The Square is especially famous for one type of theft: bicycle thievery.

"It's outrageous," says Nagle.

Two hundred and ninetynine bicycle thefts were reported to the HUPD in 1994, down from 316 in 1993. Figures were unavailable for 1995.

Police recommend that students register their bikes with the HUPD. Most recovered bikes are not returned, police say, because their original owners can not be found.

In addition to bike theft, Harvard students are also affected by burglary from dorms and houses.

Last week, a man entered the room of Natashya L. Trejo '97 in Eliot House and stole her stereo and her roommate's jewelry box.

And in a crime spree that lasted four months, thieves committed 32 break-ins in Matthews Hall this past winter.

The fourth-floor room of Jessica Hammer '99 was one of the first in Matthews to be burglarized. A thief stole three wallets while Hammer and her two roommates slept.

Since that break-in, Hammer says security has been a major concern for her and her roommates.

"I'm terrified of some stranger just walking into our room," she says.

Hammer now locks her door whenever she leaves her room. "My roommate lost her key, and we won't leave the door unlocked for her," she says.

Harvard's Facilities Maintenance Office installed punch-type locks on the doors of the bathrooms in Matthews Hall to prevent trespassers from hiding and to protect students in the bathrooms.

The last theft in Matthews occurred in the early hours of March 1, when a camera was stolen from Michelle Chen '99's second floor room.

"I didn't expect something like that to happen in a place like this," said Chen. "You're inside the gates here. You're sheltered, protected."

That morning Lamelle D. Rawlins '99, another Matthews resident, called the police to say that a stranger had entered her third floor room.