Police Place More Men On Weeks Bridge Beat

Both the University and the Metropolitan District Commission have increased police protection in the vicinity of the Weeks Bridge. The action comes as a result of a series of robberies and attacks in the area.

Dean Watson said yesterday in a letter to the Leverett House Committee that he had arranged with the MDC for additional patrolmen and plainclothesmen in the area at night, and for better illumination of the bridge. He also said that the University police had assigned a man to patrol the bridge.

"Very Close Surveillance"

A spokesman for the MDC said yesterday that the entire area was "under very close surveillance" but refused to give any further details.

Watson's letter came in response to a note from the Committee expressing concern over the problem. Keith Julian '64, Chairman of the Committee, said that letters were also sent to the MDC and to Cambridge Police Chief Daniel J. Brennen.

Julian predicted that during the spring the danger of attack would increase since more people would be using the area, and added that the Committee hoped that patrolling would become an established practice.

Action Follows Mugging

The Committee's action came after the recent mugging of two undergraduates and a Business School student on the night of March 3, one of several such incidents in the past two weeks. The students were attacked and robbed by seven teenagers while crossing the Weeks Bridge.

One night later seven MIT students were kidnapped in two different incidents. In both cases the students were robbed but escaped unharmed.

When asked for comment yesterday, Chief Brennen said that the matter was entirely under the "Jurisdiction of the Metropolitan District Police." Dean Watson was unavailable for comment.