Additionally, information has been conveyed efficiently and regularly between the five neighboring police departments, including HUPD and the MBTA police.
Per the request of the Cambridge City Council, CPD became more transparent in publishing their crime statistics. Under a new initiative called BridgeStat, CPD releases to the public a comprehensive analytical document of Cambridge crimes, statistics, and trends the first week of every month on their website.
“[Cambridge police] increased better use of data and intelligence, increased better communication between police departments, and increased information sharing,” says Daniel Wagner, the commanding officer for the department of crime analysis and technical services for Cambridge police.
They also increased their presence and security surrounding Harvard’s campus by reallocating their officers throughout the day to reflect the crime patterns that statistics described.
The College administration has also worked with HUPD and Cambridge police to increase the safety of campus for students.
The Office of Student Life announced in December that the College would “adopt a more visible stance” in response to the crimes that took place in November.
Students are frequently advised by the College to lock their doors, not allow people to follow them into residences, and take notice of their surroundings.
“We have a really robust security system in place,” says Dean of Student Life Suzy M. Nelson, “and what we sometimes have to do more of, and we are doing, is making students understand that.
CAPTURING THE SUSPECTS
One day in early November, within 12 hours of an inter-police unit “meeting to formulate a strategy to address these incidents,” police officials arrested one robbery suspect who was possibly involved in a string of eight robberies, according to the alert sent after his capture.
This arrest was made possible by the efforts of seven different police departments and the U. S. Secret Service, the advisory said.
The suspect, Santony Joseph, pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of armed robbery and three charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on Jan. 14.
Kai R. Kruger, who was accused of attempted murder after holding students up, fleeing the scene, and firing a gun at a Cambridge police officer who pursued him on foot, was arrested on Nov. 13. Kruger was found guilty of 12 counts of armed robbery, intimidating a witness, assault with intent to murder, and carrying a firearm after his trial ended on May 6. Kruger will be sentenced on May 31.
Paul Gowell, a suspect in the robbery of the Harvard University Employees Credit Union on Oct. 30, was arrested on Dec. 20. Cambridge police and the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force had been tracking the string of bank robberies in Cambridge and set up surveillance to observe Gowell.
Gowell pleaded not guilty to all six charges, five of which were for unarmed robbery, on April 1.
Read more in News
Shot after Shot: Harvard's Drinking ProblemRecommended Articles
-
Law School Student Robbed on Mass. Ave.A male law school student was the victim of an armed robbery near Porter Square on Sunday at approximately 4:22 a.m., according to a Harvard Police e-mail advisory sent yesterday afternoon.
-
$30,000 Worth of iPhones Stolen from RadioShackRobbers stole $30,000 worth of iPhones, along with more than $1,800 in cash, from the RadioShack on 28 JFK St. late Sunday night, according to a report filed by the Cambridge Police Department.
-
BRIEF: Harvard Affiliates Assaulted in Two Incidents, One Victim StabbedTwo Harvard affiliates were robbed at knifepoint Monday night, with one victim receiving stab wounds to the arm, the Cambridge Police reported yesterday.
-
Police Arrest Robbery SuspectOfficers arrested a suspect early yesterday morning in connection with a series of armed robberies in the Harvard and MIT areas, relying on the joint efforts of seven police departments and the U.S. Secret Service, according to an alert from the Cambridge Police Department.
-
Robbers Strike Outside DudleyA man was the victim of an attempted armed robbery on Massachusetts Avenue near Sacramento Street right outside of the Dudley Co-op on Saturday at 12:45 a.m., according to the Cambridge Police Department.
-
Harvard Continues Extra Yard OfficersAdditional police officers hired in response to a robbery outside Thayer Hall last Thursday will continue to patrol the Yard this weekend, according to a Harvard University Police Department spokesman.
