Campus Alert Archive
MIT

Burglary at Phi Delta Theta — Monday

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MIT Police issued a timely warning on or about 2021-11-23. Full text is preserved from the official Crime Alerts & Timely Warnings archive.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Private R1 · MA
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~12,000 studentsMIT Police Timely Warnings
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Read when and how MIT says it will use MIT Alert: summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Confirmed wording is transcribed character-for-character from a primary source. Use Verify this quote under each message to open that source in a new tab and compare the text yourself.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatim2378 chars
On November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM, the MIT Police responded to Phi Delta Theta, an MIT fraternity located at 97 Bay State Road in Boston, on a report of an attempted burglary. The reporting party stated that a few minutes before, he was awakened by an individual on the fire escape who was attempting to open his third floor bedroom window. When confronted by the reporting party, the individual fled down the fire escape in an unknown direction. Incident Two On November 22, 2021, at 11:01 PM, the MIT Police responded to Sigma Nu, an MIT fraternity located at 99 Bay State Road in Boston, on a report of a burglary. The reporting party stated that sometime between 2:30AM and 2:55AM on Monday, November 22, 2021, someone entered the building and stole a television, headphones, and miscellaneous electronic devices. There were no signs of forced entry to the building. Incident One There is no description of the suspect available at this time. Incident Two Description of Person of Interest Based on the review of video of the entry of the house, a person of interest can be observed with the following description: a middle-aged male of medium height and build with dark skin, wearing a black leather baseball cap with a white logo on the back and a long black coat. The MIT Police are actively investigating both of these incidents and the MIT Police Detective Unit has not determined whether or not these two incidents are related. While victims of crimes are never to blame for criminal activity, there are some precautions that can be taken. In order to protect yourself and your belongings from theft and/or facilitate the recovery of your stolen property, MIT Police encourage you to follow these tips: The MIT Police want to remind the MIT community that we are located in an urban setting and share many of the crime and safety issues that exist in any city. The MIT Police are investigating this crime and request the assistance from the MIT community. If you wish to leave an anonymous tip please call 617-258-TIPS (8-8477). Sergeant David J. O'Connor Crime Prevention/Community Policing Unit MIT Police 301 Vassar Street Cambridge, MA 02139 617-253-1212 WHAT IS THIS NOTICE? This notification is in compliance with the “Timely Warning” provision of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Police and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998.
Verify this quote
MIT Police Crime Alerts & Timely Warnings (police.mit.edu)police.mit.edufind archived copies
Full text from official MIT Police timely warning page
2026-09-21 second deep audit P2 chrome R1: live police.mit.edu timely-warning page product ends at the issuer/Clery close. Drupal CSS, Google Analytics, page-title line, and Emergency 24/7 sidebar are page furniture. Paired demote+correct. Cap-exempt.
Message elements

How the first alert is built

To check this alert, Claude Opus 5.5 (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

On November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM, the MIT Police responded to Phi Delta Theta, an MIT fraternity located at 97 Bay State Road in Boston, on a report of an attempted burglary. The reporting party stated that a few minutes before, he was awakened by an individual on the fire escape who was attempting to open his third floor bedroom window. When confronted by the reporting party, the individual fled down the fire escape in an unknown direction. Incident Two On November 22, 2021, at 11:01 PM, the MIT Police responded to Sigma Nu, an MIT fraternity located at 99 Bay State Road in Boston, on a report of a burglary. The reporting party stated that sometime between 2:30AM and 2:55AM on Monday, November 22, 2021, someone entered the building and stole a television, headphones, and miscellaneous electronic devices. There were no signs of forced entry to the building. Incident One There is no description of the suspect available at this time. Incident Two Description of Person of Interest Based on the review of video of the entry of the house, a person of interest can be observed with the following description: a middle-aged male of medium height and build with dark skin, wearing a black leather baseball cap with a white logo on the back and a long black coat. The MIT Police are actively investigating both of these incidents and the MIT Police Detective Unit has not determined whether or not these two incidents are related. While victims of crimes are never to blame for criminal activity, there are some precautions that can be taken. In order to protect yourself and your belongings from theft and/or facilitate the recovery of your stolen property, MIT Police encourage you to follow these tips: The MIT Police want to remind the MIT community that we are located in an urban setting and share many of the crime and safety issues that exist in any city. The MIT Police are investigating this crime and request the assistance from the MIT community. If you wish to leave an anonymous tip please call 617-258-TIPS (8-8477). Sergeant David J. O'Connor Crime Prevention/Community Policing Unit MIT Police 301 Vassar Street Cambridge, MA 02139 617-253-1212 WHAT IS THIS NOTICE? This notification is in compliance with the “Timely Warning” provision of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Police and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998.

  • Sourcepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All 25 reads agree the sender is the MIT Police, named throughout and signed by a Crime Prevention sergeant.

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: MIT Police and a named sergeant.
    2. present: Signed by an MIT Police sergeant and names MIT Police throughout.
    3. present: It names MIT Police and a sergeant of the MIT Police unit.
    4. present: Names the 'MIT Police' and a signing sergeant.
    5. present: It names the MIT Police and a signing sergeant.
    6. present: Signed by the MIT Police Crime Prevention unit.
    7. present: Signed by MIT Police's Crime Prevention unit.
    8. present: Names the MIT Police and a signing sergeant.
    9. present: It is signed by an MIT Police sergeant.
    10. present: The MIT Police and a named sergeant issue the notice.
    11. present: Issued by the MIT Police.
    12. present: It names the MIT Police and is signed by an MIT Police sergeant.
    13. present: MIT Police and a named sergeant issue the notice.
    14. present: The MIT Police are named as responder and issuer.
    15. present: MIT Police named and signed by a sergeant.
    16. present: The notice names the MIT Police repeatedly and is signed by a sergeant of the MIT Police.
    17. present: It is signed by Sergeant David J. O'Connor of the MIT Police, identifying the issuing authority.
    18. present: It repeatedly names 'the MIT Police' as the responder and is signed by a sergeant of the MIT Police.
    19. present: The notice names the 'MIT Police' and is signed by Sergeant David J. O'Connor of MIT Police.
    20. present: It names 'the MIT Police' and is signed by a sergeant of the MIT Police Crime Prevention Unit.
    21. present: It says 'the MIT Police responded' and is signed by a sergeant of the MIT Police.
    22. present: It names the MIT Police as responders and is signed by a sergeant of MIT Police Crime Prevention.
    23. present: It states 'the MIT Police responded' and is signed by an MIT Police sergeant.
    24. present: It names 'the MIT Police' as responder and is signed by a sergeant of the MIT Police.
    25. present: The notice repeatedly cites 'the MIT Police' and is signed by a sergeant of the MIT Police unit.
  • Hazardpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous: the hazards are named specifically as an attempted burglary and a burglary at two fraternities.

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Attempted burglary and burglary.
    2. present: It names an attempted burglary and a burglary.
    3. present: It names an attempted burglary and a burglary.
    4. present: Names an 'attempted burglary' and a 'burglary'.
    5. present: It names an "attempted burglary" and "a burglary".
    6. present: It names attempted burglary and burglary.
    7. present: Names an attempted burglary and a burglary.
    8. present: Names attempted burglary and burglary.
    9. present: It names an attempted burglary and a burglary.
    10. present: It names an 'attempted burglary' and a 'burglary'.
    11. present: It names burglary and attempted burglary.
    12. present: It names an attempted burglary and a burglary.
    13. present: It names burglary and attempted burglary.
    14. present: It reports an attempted burglary and a burglary.
    15. present: Attempted burglary and burglary.
    16. present: It describes 'an attempted burglary' via a fire escape and a burglary with stolen electronics.
    17. present: It names an attempted burglary and a burglary at two Bay State Road fraternities.
    18. present: It names an 'attempted burglary' via a fire escape and a second 'burglary' of electronics.
    19. present: It names an 'attempted burglary' and a 'burglary' at two fraternity houses.
    20. present: It reports 'an attempted burglary' and 'a burglary' at two fraternity houses.
    21. present: It names 'an attempted burglary' and 'a burglary' at two fraternity houses.
    22. present: It reports an 'attempted burglary' and a 'burglary' at two fraternity houses.
    23. present: It names an 'attempted burglary' and a 'burglary' at two fraternity houses.
    24. present: It describes an 'attempted burglary' and a burglary at two fraternity houses.
    25. present: It names an 'attempted burglary' and a 'burglary' with electronics stolen, specific crimes.
  • Locationpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All reads agree the locations are given: Phi Delta Theta at 97 Bay State Road and Sigma Nu at 99 Bay State Road in Boston.

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    2. present: 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    3. present: It gives 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    4. present: Gives '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road in Boston'.
    5. present: It gives "97 Bay State Road" and "99 Bay State Road in Boston".
    6. present: It gives 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    7. present: Gives '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road'.
    8. present: Gives 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    9. present: It gives 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    10. present: It gives 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    11. present: It gives 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    12. present: It gives 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    13. present: It gives 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    14. present: It names 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    15. present: 97 and 99 Bay State Road in Boston.
    16. present: It names Phi Delta Theta at '97 Bay State Road' and Sigma Nu at '99 Bay State Road' in Boston.
    17. present: It gives Phi Delta Theta at 97 Bay State Road and Sigma Nu at 99 Bay State Road.
    18. present: It gives addresses '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road in Boston' for the two fraternities.
    19. present: It gives '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road in Boston'.
    20. present: It gives 'Phi Delta Theta' at '97 Bay State Road' and Sigma Nu at '99 Bay State Road' in Boston.
    21. present: It gives '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road in Boston'.
    22. present: It gives '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road in Boston' as locations.
    23. present: It gives addresses '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road in Boston'.
    24. present: It gives '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road in Boston' as locations.
    25. present: It gives addresses at '97 Bay State Road' and '99 Bay State Road in Boston'.
  • Guidanceabsent0/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous: the message says to "follow these tips" but lists none, and the anonymous tip line asks for information rather than giving a protective action.

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. absent: Says to follow tips but lists none; only a tip line request.
    2. absent: The tips list is announced but no tips follow; only a tip line for information is given.
    3. absent: It promises tips but lists none; asking for anonymous tips is not protective action.
    4. absent: Says to 'follow these tips' but lists none; only asks for anonymous tips, which is not protective action.
    5. absent: The tips list is missing after "follow these tips:"; only an anonymous tip line is offered.
    6. absent: It announces tips but lists none, offering only an anonymous tip line.
    7. absent: Says 'follow these tips' but lists none; only asks for tips to police.
    8. absent: The tips heading has no tips listed, only a request for anonymous tips.
    9. absent: The tip list is missing, leaving only a request for anonymous tips, which is not a protective action.
    10. absent: The tips list is empty; only an anonymous tip line is offered, no protective instruction.
    11. absent: The promised tips are missing; only an anonymous tip line is offered.
    12. absent: The promised tips are missing; only an anonymous tip line is offered, not a protective action.
    13. absent: The promised tips are missing; it only requests anonymous tips, with no protective action.
    14. absent: It references tips but lists none, offering only a tip line.
    15. absent: Promises tips but lists none; only an anonymous tip line is offered.
    16. absent: It says 'follow these tips' but lists none, and only asks for anonymous tips, so no protective action appears.
    17. absent: It says police 'encourage you to follow these tips' but lists no tips, leaving only an anonymous tip line.
    18. absent: It says 'follow these tips' but lists none, offering only an anonymous tip line, so no protective action is actually given.
    19. absent: It says 'follow these tips' but no tips follow, leaving only an anonymous tip line and no protective instruction.
    20. absent: It says 'follow these tips:' but no tips actually follow, leaving only a request for anonymous information.
    21. absent: It says 'follow these tips' but no tips appear; only an anonymous tip line is offered.
    22. absent: It says 'follow these tips' but lists none, and the tip line request is for information rather than protection.
    23. absent: Although it says 'follow these tips', no tips are listed, and it only invites anonymous tips to police.
    24. absent: The tips introduced by 'follow these tips' are missing, leaving only a request for anonymous information.
    25. absent: Although it says police encourage 'these tips', no tips follow, and the only request is to call in anonymous tips.
  • Timepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    All 25 reads agree timing is explicit: "On November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM" and 11:01 PM.

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: November 22, 2021 with clock times.
    2. present: It states November 22, 2021 at 2:31 AM and 11:01 PM.
    3. present: It gives "November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM".
    4. present: States 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM'.
    5. present: It gives "November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM".
    6. present: It gives November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM and 11:01 PM.
    7. present: Gives 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM'.
    8. present: Gives 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM'.
    9. present: It gives 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and 11:01 PM.
    10. present: It gives 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and 11:01 PM.
    11. present: It gives November 22, 2021 with clock times.
    12. present: It gives November 22, 2021 at 2:31 AM.
    13. present: It gives November 22, 2021, and times.
    14. present: It gives November 22, 2021 at 2:31 AM.
    15. present: 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM'.
    16. present: It dates the incidents 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and '11:01 PM'.
    17. present: It dates the incidents to November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM and 11:01 PM.
    18. present: It states 'On November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and gives times for the second incident too.
    19. present: It dates both incidents 'November 22, 2021' with times of 2:31 AM and 11:01 PM.
    20. present: It dates the incidents 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and '11:01 PM'.
    21. present: It dates the incidents to 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and 11:01 PM.
    22. present: It dates both incidents 'November 22, 2021', at 2:31 AM and 11:01 PM.
    23. present: It dates the incidents 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and '11:01 PM'.
    24. present: It dates the incidents 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and at 11:01 PM.
    25. present: It dates the incidents to 'November 22, 2021, at 2:31 AM' and 11:01 PM.
  • Impactabsent0/25

    Final assessment

    Unanimous: the notice describes break-ins and stolen items but conveys no consequence or severity for recipients.

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. absent: No consequence stated.
    2. absent: No consequence or severity is conveyed.
    3. absent: No consequence or severity is stated.
    4. absent: No consequence or severity is conveyed.
    5. absent: No injury or severity is stated.
    6. absent: No consequence or severity is conveyed.
    7. absent: No harm or severity is conveyed.
    8. absent: No consequence or severity is stated.
    9. absent: No harm or severity statement appears.
    10. absent: No consequence or severity is conveyed.
    11. absent: No consequence or severity is stated.
    12. absent: No consequence or severity is conveyed.
    13. absent: No consequence or severity is stated.
    14. absent: No consequence or severity is conveyed.
    15. absent: No consequence or severity is conveyed.
    16. absent: The notice lists stolen items but conveys no injury, danger, or severity statement.
    17. absent: It reports stolen electronics and a fleeing intruder but states no consequence or severity for residents.
    18. absent: It reports stolen electronics and an attempted entry but conveys no consequence or severity statement.
    19. absent: It reports stolen electronics and a fleeing intruder but states no injury or severity.
    20. absent: The notice describes stolen electronics but states no harm, danger, or severity to people.
    21. absent: It notes stolen electronics and a fleeing intruder but states no harm or severity.
    22. absent: It describes the break ins and thefts but states no potential harm or severity.
    23. absent: The notice describes the break-ins without stating any potential harm or severity to recipients.
    24. absent: It reports stolen electronics but states no danger level or harmful consequence.
    25. absent: It reports stolen items and a fleeing individual but conveys no harm to people or stated severity.

Coded by Claude Opus 5.5

Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

On or about 2021-11-23, MIT Police published a Clery timely warning on the Crime Alerts & Timely Warnings archive at https://police.mit.edu/crime-alert/timely-warning-burglary-14.
Analysis

Key Findings

Official MIT Police timely warning with complete text
Captured for Ivy Plus MIT five-year deep pass
Outcome
MIT Police investigation status as stated in the timely warning.
Provenance

Sources

Every claim on this page is meant to be checkable. Open the links below (and the Verify this quote control under each confirmed alert) to read the original university, news, or archive page yourself. Hostnames are shown so you can see where you are going; archived copies survive when live pages move or disappear. See also our methodology.

  1. Official
    Timely Warning Burglary
    police.mit.edu
    archived copy
  2. Official
    MIT Police timely warnings index
    police.mit.edu
    archived copy
  3. Statement
    MIT
    mit.edu
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Burglary at Phi Delta Theta — Monday." Incident of November 23, 2021. Added July 2026; last updated September 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/mit-burglary-phi-delta-theta-an-mit-fraternity-locate-2021-11-23/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
burglarytimely-warningmitcleryUnder Investigation
Added July 2026Updated September 2026Via ingestion