Police Statistics Indicate Yard Highest Crime Area; Overall Crime Decreases

The Yard area has the highest incidence of larceny and violent crimes of any area of the University, according to Harvard Police crime statistics released yesterday.

Police figures, however, showed a decline in Yard crime from the same July to November reporting period last year.

Twenty-one grand larcenies, 42 petty larcenies and four violent crimes in the Yard area were reported from July to November of this year, the report said. During the same months of 1975, there were 39 grand larcenies and 52 petty larcenies in the Yard. Figures for violent crime in the Yard in 1975 were unavailable.

Jeffrey Kahn, captain of the Harvard Police, last night attributed the decreases in these crimes to increased police visibility and heightened awareness in the Harvard community of the "fact of crime."

The south Yard area around Grays and Wigglesworth Halls reported more crime, including 23 petty larcenies, than other Yard areas.

Wigglesworth, because it faces Mass Ave., is probably "the most victimized dorm," Kahn said. Pointing out open doors in a Wigglesworth entry, Kahn said that Wigglesworth residents still fail to lock their doors despite warnings from police.

Other areas with high crime rates include the Business School, with 32 total robberies and three violent crimes and the Peabody Terrace area, with 26 robberies and three violent crimes.

Leverett and Quincy Houses combined had a total of 28 robberies and assaults, as did the Union dorms.

The areas with the lowest reported crime rates were the Divinity School area which reported five crimes and Adams House and Claverly Hall with nine robberies and no violent crimes reported.

Claverly residents last year demanded more police protection because of serious crimes that had occurred in the dorm.

Greater Individual Precautions

Kahn said, however, that the low crime rate at Claverly was not a direct result of increased police presence but was probably caused by greater precautions taken by individual Claverly residents.

The protests focused attention on Claverly crime but were not necessarily an indication that Claverly had more crime than other areas, Kahn said.

Computer Displays

Kahn said the Harvard Police are working on computer displays that will locate high crime areas using dots on a map to represent incidents. The police reevaluate the deployment of officers every three months to compensate for shifting crime patterns, he added.

At the moment, Kahn said, the police are focusing on the prevention of theft.

Over 400 thefts have been reported since July of this year. Perhaps double that number of robberies go unreported, Kahn said.

Although overall, fewer serious crimes were reported this year, some offenses did show increases. Petty larceny increased about 4 per cent, with trespassing reports rising by 70 per cent. Reporting of certain sex-related crimes such as obscene telephone calls increased slightly in frequency, but sexual assault and rape decreased.