In a striking rise over 2010 figures, crime rates spiked by 92 percent at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Davis Square station in 2011.
The increase was mostly due to a sharp hike in Part I crimes — which include robbery, homicide, arson, larceny and forcible rape — with 23 crimes reported in 2011, compared to 12 crimes in 2010.
Most of the crimes committed at the Davis Square station between January and December 2011 were larcenies, with 21 out of the 23 incidents falling into that category. Commuters reported one assault and one robbery.
Most of the increase in Part I crimes can be attributed to a rise in bicycle thefts, according to MBTA Deputy Chief of Police Joseph O'Connor.
"Davis Square experienced …[an] increase of number of people utilizing the station to park bicycles, and the vast majority of larcenies from Davis Square are thefts of bicycles," O'Connor told the Daily.
Many of the thefts occurred when MBTA commuters left their bicycles unattended at the station when it was closed for multiple days, according to O'Connor. He added that the risk of bicycle thefts would greatly decrease if commuters used better locking devices.
Last year, the MBTA Transit Police Department arrested one individual and identified several others as larceny suspects, according to O'Connor. The person who was caught was allegedly selling the stolen bicycles on Craigslist, but other individuals have simply abandoned the stolen bicycles, he added.
In order to deal with these increasing crime rates, the MBTA Transit Police Department has teamed up with other local authorities, including the Somerville, Cambridge, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Departments, O'Connor said.
The MBTA transit police have also taken a number of measures to reduce thefts at the Davis Square station, according to O'Connor.
The department is utilizing increased camera surveillance, high−visibility police patrols and a new "Pedal & Park" system, which was previously established at the Alewife station and helps secure bicycles, he said.
O'Connor added that there does not appear to be any correlation between the construction at the Davis Square station and increasing crime rates, but the increase appears to have occurred due to the growing number of bicycle commuters.
"What we've seen throughout our system is an explosion in the number of bikes that people are taking to stations, and there's really been a change in mindset among the public utilizing bikes to travel to stations instead of taking cars and parking nearby or walking," O'Connor said.
"Bikes are convenient for people, particularly the improvements that are coming with bike paths and so forth in Somerville," he said. "We expect a continued growth in the number of people that use bikes to get to the MBTA."
Difficulties in returning lost bicycles to their owners have arisen from the lack of legitimate records of bicycle owners, but MBTA transit police officers have begun an effort to change this, according to O'Connor.
"We've done an education piece where we've been handing out pamphlets to people at selected locations and trying to educate people to get the information on their bike — know the brand, know the model and know the serial number — so, should we recover it, that we can get it back to them," he said.
Some students expressed concern over the surge in Crime at the Davis Square station.
"I'm not sure why they have so many incidents," Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy first−year student Shashank Pasrija said. "It's certainly something to be concerned about."
Others said they are not worried about crime in Somerville despite the increase.
"I actually feel very safe here," a Somerville resident who wished to remain anonymous told the Daily. "It has to do with common sense. I have never had any problems."
Although O'Connor said it is still too soon to tell, he hopes the MBTA Transit Police Department's efforts will reduce the number of crimes at the Davis Square station in 2012.
"The most important thing is that people need to use good locking devices, and, if they can use more than one on their bicycles to secure tires and secure their bikes, they should do so," he said.
