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[[File:Crime Club logo 2.png|thumb|alt=cartoon beaver in private-detective garb|MIT Crime Club logo (2005)]]
[[File:Crime Club logo 2.png|thumb|alt=cartoon beaver in private-detective garb|MIT Crime Club logo (2005)]]


The '''MIT Crime Club''' is a student group that has been operating on the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] campus since 2005.&nbsp; It provides data and technology that can be used for safeguarding persons or property.<ref name="cambridge">{{Cite report |date=Sept. 26, 2011 |title=Res. 37 |url=http://mitcrimeclub.org/camres37.pdf |publisher=Cambridge City Council |type=Resolution }}</ref> &nbsp;In 2009 it hired a private detective to investigate a murder in a Harvard College residence hall.<ref name="nierstedt">{{cite news |title=Trespassing alleged at dorm |first=Jenna |last=Nierstedt |url=http://boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/06/02/two_charged_with_trespassing_at_harvard_dorm/?comments=all |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe|Boston Globe]] |date=June 2, 2009 |page=B7 |quote=An MIT crime club itself spawned criminal charges ….&nbsp; [The] investigators … were arrested … after … University police found the two taking photos inside the dorm …. |archiveurl=http://www.upo.harvard.edu/library/clippings/05-20-09_06-03-09.pdf |archivedate=June 8, 2009 (at p. 16) |deadurl=no }}</ref><ref name="fargen">{{cite news |title=MIT kids send spies to Harvard: Slaying prompts closer study of campus security |first=Jessica |last=Fargen |url=http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1176418 |newspaper=[[Boston Herald]] |date=June 3, 2009 |quote=[It] hired the [team] following the … murder of Justin Cosby, 21, who police say dealt drugs to Harvard students …. |page=2 |archiveurl=http://www.upo.harvard.edu/library/clippings/05-20-09_06-03-09.pdf |archivedate=June 8, 2009 (at p. 17) |deadurl=no }}</ref><ref name="schwartz">{{cite news|last=Schwartz |first=Jason |title= The Case of the Gumshoe Geeks: The curious MIT club that’s taken on a murder investigation as an afterschool project |newspaper=[[Boston (magazine)|Boston Magazine]] |pages=62–63 |date=Aug. 1, 2009 |url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_case_of_the_gumshoe_geeks/ }}</ref> &nbsp;In fall 2011, the local city council voted to thank its members for various achievements in promoting public safety.<ref name="cambridge" />
The '''MIT Crime Club''' was a student group that has been operating on the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] campus since 2005.&nbsp; It provided data and technology that can be used for safeguarding persons or property.<ref name="cambridge">{{Cite report |date=Sept. 26, 2011 |title=Res. 37 |url=http://mitcrimeclub.org/camres37.pdf |publisher=Cambridge City Council |type=Resolution }}</ref> &nbsp;In 2009 it hired a private detective to investigate a murder in a Harvard College residence hall.<ref name="nierstedt">{{cite news |title=Trespassing alleged at dorm |first=Jenna |last=Nierstedt |url=http://boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/06/02/two_charged_with_trespassing_at_harvard_dorm/?comments=all |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe|Boston Globe]] |date=June 2, 2009 |page=B7 |quote=An MIT crime club itself spawned criminal charges ….&nbsp; [The] investigators … were arrested … after … University police found the two taking photos inside the dorm …. |archiveurl=http://www.upo.harvard.edu/library/clippings/05-20-09_06-03-09.pdf |archivedate=June 8, 2009 (at p. 16) |deadurl=no }}</ref><ref name="fargen">{{cite news |title=MIT kids send spies to Harvard: Slaying prompts closer study of campus security |first=Jessica |last=Fargen |url=http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1176418 |newspaper=[[Boston Herald]] |date=June 3, 2009 |quote=[It] hired the [team] following the … murder of Justin Cosby, 21, who police say dealt drugs to Harvard students …. |page=2 |archiveurl=http://www.upo.harvard.edu/library/clippings/05-20-09_06-03-09.pdf |archivedate=June 8, 2009 (at p. 17) |deadurl=no }}</ref><ref name="schwartz">{{cite news|last=Schwartz |first=Jason |title= The Case of the Gumshoe Geeks: The curious MIT club that’s taken on a murder investigation as an afterschool project |newspaper=[[Boston (magazine)|Boston Magazine]] |pages=62–63 |date=Aug. 1, 2009 |url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/the_case_of_the_gumshoe_geeks/ }}</ref> &nbsp;In fall 2011, the local city council voted to thank its members for various achievements in promoting public safety.<ref name="cambridge" />


== History ==
== History ==


The MIT Crime Club was founded in spring 2005<ref name="schwartz" /> and became a recognized MIT student group on December&nbsp;23, 2005.<ref name="asa">{{cite web |url=https://asa.mit.edu/groups/795/ |title=Crime Club, MIT |work=Association of Student Activities |publisher=MIT |date=Jan. 23, 2012 |quote=''MIT Student Groups''.&nbsp; 4 Undergraduates · 3 Graduate Students · 2 MIT Community · 1 Other }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/asa/about/minutes/2005-04-19.pdf |title=Minutes |author=ASA Executive Board |date= Apr. 19, 2005 |work=Association of Student Activities |publisher=MIT |quote=Voting on groups}}</ref> &nbsp;In spring 2011, its membership included seven MIT students and one Harvard student.<ref name="fargen" /><ref name="asa" />
The MIT Crime Club was founded in spring 2005<ref name="schwartz" /> and became a recognized MIT student group on December&nbsp;23, 2005.<ref name="asa">{{cite web |url=https://asa.mit.edu/groups/795/ |title=Crime Club, MIT |work=Association of Student Activities |publisher=MIT |date=Jan. 23, 2012 |quote=''MIT Student Groups''.&nbsp; 4 Undergraduates · 3 Graduate Students · 2 MIT Community · 1 Other }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/asa/about/minutes/2005-04-19.pdf |title=Minutes |author=ASA Executive Board |date= Apr. 19, 2005 |work=Association of Student Activities |publisher=MIT |quote=Voting on groups}}</ref> &nbsp;In spring 2011, its membership included seven MIT students and one Harvard student.<ref name="fargen" /><ref name="asa" /> The Crime Club was derecognized some time before January 2012<ref name="asa" />.


== Activities ==
== Activities ==


The club compiles incident reports from police logs and constructs crime maps.<ref name="schwartz" /> &nbsp;Members have written weekly police-log compilations for MIT’s newspaper, [[The Tech (newspaper)|''The Tech'']].<ref>{{cite news |title=Police log |first=Marjan |last=Rafat |url=http://tech.mit.edu/V126/PDF/N2.pdf |newspaper=The Tech |location=MIT |date=Feb. 10, 2006 |page=17 |quote=Compiled … with assistance from other members of the MIT Crime Club. }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=25 colleges with the worst crime rankings |url= http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2009/09/16/25-colleges-with-the-worst-crime-rankings.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Beast]] | location=New York |date=Sept. 16, 2010 |at=Gallery, no. 5 }}</ref>
The club compiled incident reports from police logs and constructs crime maps.<ref name="schwartz" /> &nbsp;Members have written weekly police-log compilations for MIT’s newspaper, [[The Tech (newspaper)|''The Tech'']].<ref>{{cite news |title=Police log |first=Marjan |last=Rafat |url=http://tech.mit.edu/V126/PDF/N2.pdf |newspaper=The Tech |location=MIT |date=Feb. 10, 2006 |page=17 |quote=Compiled … with assistance from other members of the MIT Crime Club. }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=25 colleges with the worst crime rankings |url= http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2009/09/16/25-colleges-with-the-worst-crime-rankings.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Beast]] | location=New York |date=Sept. 16, 2010 |at=Gallery, no. 5 }}</ref>


In 2005 the club began rebroadcasting [[Harvard University Police Department|Harvard]], MIT, and [[Cambridge Police Department (Massachusetts)|City of Cambridge]] police radio transmissions online.<ref>{{cite web |title=Harvard radio stations |work=SHOUTcast radio directory |publisher=Nullsoft |url=http://www.shoutcast.com/Internet-Radio/Harvard |accessdate=Jan. 9, 2012 |quote=Harvard & MIT police - Radio WIGGUM - MIT Crime Club scanner }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=MIT Crime Club police-radio scanner |author=MIT Crime Club |url= http://mitcrimeclub.org/scanner.html |accessdate=Jan. 9, 2012 }}</ref>
In 2005 the club began rebroadcasting [[Harvard University Police Department|Harvard]], MIT, and [[Cambridge Police Department (Massachusetts)|City of Cambridge]] police radio transmissions online.<ref>{{cite web |title=Harvard radio stations |work=SHOUTcast radio directory |publisher=Nullsoft |url=http://www.shoutcast.com/Internet-Radio/Harvard |accessdate=Jan. 9, 2012 |quote=Harvard & MIT police - Radio WIGGUM - MIT Crime Club scanner }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=MIT Crime Club police-radio scanner |author=MIT Crime Club |url= http://mitcrimeclub.org/scanner.html |accessdate=Jan. 9, 2012 }}</ref>

Revision as of 05:41, 5 November 2012

cartoon beaver in private-detective garb
MIT Crime Club logo (2005)

The MIT Crime Club was a student group that has been operating on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus since 2005.  It provided data and technology that can be used for safeguarding persons or property.[1]  In 2009 it hired a private detective to investigate a murder in a Harvard College residence hall.[2][3][4]  In fall 2011, the local city council voted to thank its members for various achievements in promoting public safety.[1]

History

The MIT Crime Club was founded in spring 2005[4] and became a recognized MIT student group on December 23, 2005.[5][6]  In spring 2011, its membership included seven MIT students and one Harvard student.[3][5] The Crime Club was derecognized some time before January 2012[5].

Activities

The club compiled incident reports from police logs and constructs crime maps.[4]  Members have written weekly police-log compilations for MIT’s newspaper, The Tech.[7][8]

In 2005 the club began rebroadcasting Harvard, MIT, and City of Cambridge police radio transmissions online.[9][10]

The club attempted to develop an improvement on a saliva-alcohol test device used for measuring blood alcohol content.[4][11]

In April 2009 the club awarded an MIT dormitory a “Sparky the Fire Dog Award for Not Setting Off As Many Fire Alarms as Last Year.”[4][12]

In May 2009 the club hired a private detective to investigate security at Harvard University after a drug dealer was shot to death during a business meeting in a dormitory basement.  The detective and his companion were arrested by campus police on charges of breaking and entering and trespass;[2][3][4] the court dismissed the case.[13][14]

Influence

In 2006 the group’s immediate past president became the Cambridge Chronicle’s first “Police Log Compiler for MIT and Harvard.”[15]

Eight months after the May 2009 murder investigation, Harvard students “looking to MIT’s Crime Club as an example” organized the Harvard College Crime Club.[16]  The Harvard club was recognized by the college’s Office of Student Life on November 19, 2010.[17]

In September 2011 the Cambridge City Council adopted a resolution thanking the group’s members for various achievements.

MIT Crime Club members have for six years furnished MIT students with technology and data of value in safeguarding their persons and property.…  The City Council … thank[s] the … Campus Crimestoppers for their achievements in making their campus and the City … a safer and more welcoming environment for students.[1]

Finances

The club has used alumni donations[4] and disbursements by MIT’s Association of Student Activities[11] to pay its project expenses.  The MIT Alumni Association maintains an “MIT Crime Club Fund.”[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c Res. 37 (PDF) (Resolution). Cambridge City Council. Sept. 26, 2011. {{cite report}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b Nierstedt, Jenna (June 2, 2009). "Trespassing alleged at dorm" (PDF). Boston Globe. p. B7. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009 (at p. 16). An MIT crime club itself spawned criminal charges ….  [The] investigators … were arrested … after … University police found the two taking photos inside the dorm …. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c Fargen, Jessica (June 3, 2009). "MIT kids send spies to Harvard: Slaying prompts closer study of campus security" (PDF). Boston Herald. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009 (at p. 17). [It] hired the [team] following the … murder of Justin Cosby, 21, who police say dealt drugs to Harvard students …. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Schwartz, Jason (Aug. 1, 2009). "The Case of the Gumshoe Geeks: The curious MIT club that's taken on a murder investigation as an afterschool project". Boston Magazine. pp. 62–63. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b c "Crime Club, MIT". Association of Student Activities. MIT. Jan. 23, 2012. MIT Student Groups.  4 Undergraduates · 3 Graduate Students · 2 MIT Community · 1 Other {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ ASA Executive Board (Apr. 19, 2005). "Minutes" (PDF). Association of Student Activities. MIT. Voting on groups {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Rafat, Marjan (Feb. 10, 2006). "Police log" (PDF). The Tech. MIT. p. 17. Compiled … with assistance from other members of the MIT Crime Club. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "25 colleges with the worst crime rankings". The Daily Beast. New York. Sept. 16, 2010. Gallery, no. 5. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Harvard radio stations". SHOUTcast radio directory. Nullsoft. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2012. Harvard & MIT police - Radio WIGGUM - MIT Crime Club scanner {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ MIT Crime Club. "MIT Crime Club police-radio scanner". Retrieved Jan. 9, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ a b Maurer, Sam (Nov. 1, 2005). "MIT Marching Band blog entry". MIT Admissions Office. MIT. (para. 17). {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)  See generally Conforming Products List of Screening Devices To Measure Alcohol in Bodily Fluids (PDF) (Regulation). Vol. 74. Fed. Reg. (Dec. 15, 2009). p. 66398. [This] saliva-alcohol screening device … cannot exceed storage temperatures of 27 °C. {{cite report}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "2008 Sparky the Fire Dog Award" (PDF). MIT Crime Club. Apr. 30, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Charges dismissed against Massachusetts PI". PI Magazine. Freehold, N.J. Nov.–Dec., 2009. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on Feb. 17, 2010 (at p. 22). One apparent implication is that investigators may take photographs … without being subject to immediate arrest. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= and |archivedate= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Commonwealth v. Cadillic, No. 09-52-CR-1267, Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss; Judgment of Dismissal (Mass. Dist. Ct. dismissed July 28, 2009) ("Motion to Dismiss is Allowed [granted].").
  15. ^ "Crime Watch". Cambridge Chronicle. Sept. 14, 2006. p. 5. Marjan Rafat, police log compiler for MIT and Harvard. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Yu, Xi (Jan. 30, 2010). "CSI: Harvard". The Harvard Crimson Flyby Blog. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Student organizations: Harvard College Crime Club". Harvard College Office of Student Life. Sept. 15, 2011. Harvard College Crime Club is an autonomous organization …. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "MIT Crime Club Fund". Giving to MIT. MIT. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2012. Gifts to support the club's public-safety initiatives. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

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