CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - The Harvard Police Department has issued a community advisory after recent reports of unlawful entries and burglaries in Yard Dorms.
Police said they responded to three reports between Thursday and Monday, one in Mower Hall and two in Wigglesworth Hall. In all three instances, residents reported that an unknown individual accessed their room through a window and stole three laptops, AirPods, Apple Smart Keyboard and Pencil, as well as prescription glasses.
In two of the incidents, residents reported that fans were positioned in their windows and the entry occurred while they were asleep in the evening.
It is unclear whether these incidents are connected. Harvard University Police Department detectives are actively investigating all of these incidents.
Anyone with any information about these incidents is asked to call the Harvard University Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 617-495-1796.
Police are providing the community with the following list of precautions to keep individuals and their valuables safe:
- Residents should not prop interior or exterior doors at any time, hold an outside door open for strangers, or allow strangers to “piggyback” on their access card.
- Residents should keep their doors locked at all times, even when in the room or when going down the hall for only a few minutes.
- If at any time, residents observe someone acting in a suspicious manner in a building or attempting to enter residences, please call the Harvard University Police Department at 617-495-1212. Suspicious behavior may include a stranger knocking on your door and asking an out-of-place question, such as “did you lose these keys,” or making an excuse for being found in the room (“I was looking for …”).
- Residents should close their windows when leaving their rooms, even for short periods of time; should not disengage the “ventilation stop” on first-floor windows; and should keep all property away from windows in order to prevent someone from reaching in and removing items.
- If a resident arrives home and it appears that an unlawful entry occurred, please do not enter. Call the Harvard University Police Department immediately at 617-495-1212 from the safety of a neighbor’s room. At no time should a resident enter the room, touch anything, or confront someone in the room or the building.
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