Cambridge business owners call for change after years of break-ins

A group of Cambridge business owners are raising concerns about recurring break-and-enters on Pinebush Road.

Cambridge City Council has now taken the first step in addressing the issue.

The businesses are primarily concentrated in the Pinebush Road area and consist of repair shops, mechanics and other blue-collar services.

Most have fleets of vehicles parked in fenced yards, often time containing tools and other items.

The owners say it is not uncommon to show-up at work to find their compounds broken into.

The thieves target vehicles and locked compartments looking to access valuable parts or other items.

Increasingly, it is the businesses that are left to shoulder the costs of clean-up and repairs.

“You don’t dare put an insurance claim in or your insurance premiums go up because they become high risk.” said Peter Simpson, owner of Combined Auto and Truck Repair on Pinebush Road. “When you call the police, they say it’s petty theft but it’s petty theft everywhere and repeatedly.”

Simpson and other business owners reached out to Ward 6 Councilor Adam Cooper who quickly took up their cause. He filed a motion on their behalf which was passed by council.

Cooper’s motion called on council to write a letter to upper levels of government calling for changes to the current catch and release system.

Simpson said he and his fellow business owners often see the same people breaking-in multiple times.

The hope is the letter will bring more attention to calls for reform which have been building over recent years.