Editorial, Opinion

EDIT: A call for change

The third armed robbery, which occurred on Friday, shows remarkable similarities to the two earlier robberies.

Like Friday’s incident, the previous robberies occurred in the Brookline area and involved two to three black, male suspects.

While the robberies appear to be connected, police have neither caught the culprits nor verified any connection among the three incidents. The first one occurred 16 days ago, yet police have not announced any updates on the investigations.

Although the Boston University Police Department and Brookline Police Department must be doing all they can in their power to find the culprits, their failure to apprehend them is raising questions about students’ safety. A number of BU students live near the sites where the robberies occurred.

It is noteworthy that the BUPD and Brookline police have stepped up patrols in that area, but have their efforts yielded results? It doesn’t appear so. Friday’s robbery occurred after that pledge was made. It would be worthwhile for the police to set up cameras near the sites of the robberies.

There is also the issue of transparency. Why haven’t the police provided us with more details on their investigation? The BU Alerts shouldn’t end days or even weeks before with lines about “increasing patrols” and “suspects fleeing.”

We want to know what the police have found since then. Are any of the suspects in custody or are they still searching?

It would also help if police provided some educational measures to ensure that students are taking the necessary precautions. Not all students will take self-defense courses, and suggestions such as not walking with your headphones in can only do so much. They should be instructing us on how to diffuse an armed robbery should one occur or other easy-to-learn measures.

Whether police offer leads or not, it is clear that students will have to be on their guard at least until more details are available about these incidents.

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