Councillors Discuss Crime Wave

The recent Cambridgeport crime wave prompted a special presentation by Cambridge Police Department (CPD) Commissioner Ronnie Watson at Monday night's city council meeting.

Watson and CPD Lieutenant Steven Williams updated the councillors on the recent crimes and the police department's response.

Last year the city had 55 house breaks, but there will be roughly 71 house breaks by year's end if the current rate does not decrease, Watson said.

He said one of the primary reasons for concern is that two of the recent break-ins also involved serious felony crimes.

In one the perpetrator entered a Cambridgeport home through a door and raped an individual.

Another break-in involved forced entry through a second floor window. The intruder then assaulted the people in the home.

The CPD also passed out a home security alert bulletin at Monday night's meeting.

The bulletin urges owners, tenants and landlords of houses or apartments to review the security of all easily accessible windows.

The bulletin also suggests several types of special locks available for windows.

Monday night's presentation included a demonstration using a window casement to illustrate how to use the different types of window locks available.

In response to the severity of these particular crimes and to "the ongoing pattern in that area," Watson and his officers also held a meeting Tuesday evening at the Graham and Parks School in Cambridgeport to discuss safety measures with area residents.

Some councillors said they are concerned about the increase in crime.

"[This crime] is a problem, and I think we're taking it seriously," said city councillor Kathleen L. Born.

Born commended the police department, which has put in hundreds of hours of overtime, working additional uniform and non-uniform detail in order to keep local residents safe.

But Councillor Katherine Triantafillou emphasized that crime is still not an over-whelming problem in Cambridge.

"[The recent crime is] alarming, but it's only one part of the city, and generally other crime indicators are down," she said.

Triantafillou said the police department is working to prevent future crimes.

"Some of these break-ins were really preventable," Triantafillou said. "There's a number of preventive measures people can take such as locks on the doors and lighting around the house."