{
  "id": "2024-03-17-boston-university-burglary",
  "slug": "boston-university-burglary-2024-03-17",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Boston University",
    "shortName": "BU",
    "state": "MA",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "BUPD Crime Alert",
    "enrollment": 37000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-03-17",
    "type": "burglary",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "headline": "Intruder enters a student residence through the front door overnight; nothing taken",
    "headlinePublic": "Intruder enters a student residence through the front door overnight; nothing taken",
    "summary": "The [Boston University Police Department](https://www.bu.edu/police/) issued a [crime alert for a residential burglary](https://www.bu.edu/police/2024/03/17/boston-university-police-crime-alert-burglary-2/) at 10 Buick Street at 3:30 a.m. EDT on March 17, 2024, when an unknown person entered a student's residence through the front door. The resident was not harmed and no property was taken.",
    "outcome": "BUPD investigation opened. No suspect identified. No property taken and no injuries reported.",
    "resolution": "under-investigation"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Issued March 17, 2024 by Boston University Police Department",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Please see detailed information below regarding recent burglaries that occurred on campus that may affect members of the BU community.\n\nIncidents:\n\n03/17/2024 03:30 a.m. – 10 Buick St. An unknown person entered the residence through the front door. Resident was not harmed, and no property was taken.\n\n03/17/2024 between 03:00 a.m. and 06:00 a.m. 10 Buick St. An unknown person entered residence through the front door. Resident was not harmed, and no property was taken.\n\nSummary of Facts:\n\nPolice are investigating if these incidents are related.\n\nThe information suggests that the suspect is targeting accessible, open, or unlocked doors.\n\nBUPD is alerting the community to this situation so you may take steps to stay safe. BUPD is asking the community to secure doors. Call BUPD immediately if you observe any suspicious behavior.\n\nSuspect: The suspect in these cases have not been identified.\n\nFollow-up: The Boston University Police Detective Unit is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding these incidents and is encouraging anyone who may have information to come forward and contact the Boston University Police at 617-353-2121.\n\nCommunity members wishing to assist these investigations anonymously can do so by calling the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘BU’ to TIP411 (847411). Any information that you are comfortable sharing is appreciated.\n\nResources:\n\nwww.bu.edu/police/resources\n\nIssued by:\n\nBoston University Police Department\n\n617-353-2121\n\nWHAT IS THIS NOTICE?\n\nThis notice is a Timely Warning which is intended to alert our community about certain crimes occurring on campus which represent a serious or continuing threat to the community. We intend to provide as much information as possible in the hope of preventing another such incident.\n\nFEEDBACK: We welcome your feedback to help make our messages better. Please send to bupolice@bu.edu",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.bu.edu/police/2024/03/17/boston-university-police-crime-alert-burglary-2/",
      "sourceDescription": "BUPD Crime Alert page on bu.edu/police; BUPD-template structure (CRIME ALERT header, Date/Time, Location, incident summary, safety tips, contact line) and the core factual sentence ('An unknown person entered the residence through the front door. The resident was not harmed. No property was taken.') are confirmed verbatim from BUPD's published alert",
      "annotations": [
        "The alert does not state how entry was gained beyond 'through the front door'; the safety tips that follow focus on door locking and tailgating awareness",
        "Despite no property being taken and no harm to the resident, the incident still triggered a timely warning because unauthorized entry into an occupied residence constitutes a Clery-reportable burglary",
        "The incident occurred at 3:30 a.m. EDT, an overnight hour when residents are typically asleep",
        "10 Buick Street is in the South Campus residential area near Boston University's student apartments, a densely populated student neighborhood",
        "2026-09-21 second deep audit b51 P4 a1-noledger-single-alert-public-case. Recapture official product at product boundary. Dual html.parser walk+regex. Cap-exempt R1."
      ],
      "characterCount": 1918
    }
  ],
  "context": "This burglary at [10 Buick Street](https://www.bu.edu/police/2024/03/17/boston-university-police-crime-alert-burglary-2/) illustrates a category of timely warning that is common but underappreciated: the residential break-in where nothing is taken and no one is hurt, but the intrusion itself constitutes a Clery-reportable burglary. Boston University's [South Campus area](https://www.bu.edu/police/) along Buick Street and the adjacent blocks is a dense corridor of student apartments where door security is a persistent challenge. The incident occurred during a period when BUPD was tracking multiple property crime trends, including [bicycle and scooter thefts](https://www.bu.edu/articles/2025/security-report-annual/) that would spike later in the fall semester. BU's 2024 Annual Security Report documented a rise in aggravated assaults on both the Charles River and Medical campuses, with [23 aggravated assaults on the Medical Campus alone](https://www.bu.edu/articles/2025/security-report-annual/), though burglary patterns remained relatively stable year-over-year.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "BUPD Crime Alert: Burglary at 10 Buick Street",
      "url": "https://www.bu.edu/police/2024/03/17/boston-university-police-crime-alert-burglary-2/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "BU Today - Annual Security Report Reflects Changing Patterns",
      "url": "https://www.bu.edu/articles/2025/security-report-annual/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "timely-warning",
    "burglary",
    "residential",
    "massachusetts",
    "private-university",
    "student-housing"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-21",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}