Archived Timely Warnings & Campus Advisories

Community Advisory - Burglaries -Yard Dorms and River Houses

February 3, 2020

Over last weekend, 2/1/20 and 2/2/20, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) responded to six (6) reports of thefts occurring in River Houses and Yard dorms.  In three (3) of the incidents, doors were either left unsecured or a key was left in the door.  In two (2) of the incidents, property was stolen during a party.  In three (3) of the incidents a suspect(s) entered rooms that were occupied.  In the thefts occurring in occupied rooms, the residents did not observe or have any contact with...

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Community Advisory - Assault and Batteries Harvard Square area, Cambridge

August 30, 2021

Beginning Tuesday evening (8/24/21), four assault and batteries were committed against male victims in the area of Harvard Square. Three of the victims were graduate students and the fourth victim was unaffiliated with the University. In each of the incidents the victims identified the offender as a white male, twenty to forty years of age, and riding on a bicycle. In three of the incidents, no words were exchanged prior to the offender punching the victims. These incidents occurred both during the day and in the early evening. None of the victims knew the offender nor required...

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Timely Warning - Burglaries in River Dorms

November 1, 2022
On Saturday, October 29, 2022, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) responded to four (4) reports of unlawful entries into undergraduate residences; two (2) at Quincy House, one (1) at 20 DeWolfe St, and one (1) at Adams House.

 

In all four incidents, occupants reported that between 11:00 PM on Friday, October 28th and 2:00 AM on Saturday, October 29th, several items were stolen from their rooms. In three (3)...

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Community Advisory - Burglaries in Yard Dorms - UPDATE

July 27, 2022

On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, HUPD detectives sought criminal complaints at Cambridge District Court for the unlawful entry into Wigglesworth Hall on July 11th. The Court granted complaints against the offender for Breaking and Entering in the Nighttime and Trespassing and issued an arrest warrant. On Tuesday afternoon, HUPD detectives while on patrol observed the offender near campus and subsequently placed the individual under arrest for the active warrant.

The two additional unlawful entries into Yard Dorms are still under investigation by HUPD’s...

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Community Advisory - Burglaries in Yard Dorms - Update

March 3, 2022

This morning, at approximately 1:00 AM, an HUPD officer on a directed patrol in response to a series of recent burglaries in Harvard Yard, observed an unidentified male behaving in a suspicious manner around several undergraduate residences. The officer contacted the individual and conducted a field interview. During the interview, the officer determined that the individual was a suspect in the previous burglaries in Harvard Yard. Additionally, another unlawful entry was reported that had just occurred in Canaday Hall. The officer determined that the individual stopped was the...

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Community Advisory - Burglaries in Yard Dorms

February 25, 2022

Over the last week, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) responded to two (2) reports of unlawful entries occurring in Mower Hall and Wigglesworth Hall. In both instances, occupants reported that while they were sleeping, someone climbed through their first floor window and stole laptops, Air Pods, a backpack, and a wallet from their rooms.

It is unclear whether these incidents are connected. Both of these incidents are being actively investigated by HUPD detectives. If you have any information about these incidents, please call the Harvard...

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Community Advisory - Drink Spiking in the Cambridge and Boston Areas

February 17, 2022

The Harvard University Police Department has received information from the Boston and Cambridge Police Departments that they have seen an increase in reports of spiked beverages at bars in their cities.

Drink spiking is when an offender adds a scentless, colorless and tasteless drug in the drink of an unsuspecting victim. The effects of drink spiking vary. Symptoms could include loss of balance, visual impairment, confusion, or nausea. Drink spiking is a crime.

...

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Campus Advisory - Email Scam

September 5, 2023

The Harvard University Police Department wishes to inform our community of an ongoing scam targeting Harvard University affiliates. The scam appears to originate from a Harvard email address and offers recipients free musical instruments, in exchange for paying the delivery costs. The scammer requests interested parties contact them via text and submit payment via an online money transfer service (Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, etc.).

The HUPD is actively investigating these incidents and is informing members of our community about these scams in an attempt to...

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Timely Warning - Burglary at Matthews Hall

July 25, 2023

This morning (7/24/23) at approximately 7:20 AM, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) responded to a report of a burglary at Matthews Hall. In this incident, residents reported that an unknown individual accessed their room through a window and stole a laptop, two sets of AirPods, and two wallets containing currency, credit cards and identification documents. The residents reported that a fan and a grate...

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Timely Warning - Aggravated Assault and Battery at Harvard Business School

May 22, 2023

At approximately 6:00 AM on Monday, May 22, 2023, Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) officers responded to a report of an aggravated assault. Upon officers’ arrival, a victim reported that while walking on Gordon Road, towards Shad Hall, they passed an unknown male suspect yelling obscenities. Moments later, the suspect returned to the area wielding a screw driver, lunged at the victim, and threatened to kill them. The victim was not injured during the assault and de-escalated the situation until the suspect fled the immediate area. Officers...

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