On Thursday, February 6, Curtis Hall in Jamaica Plain hosted the monthly police and community relations meeting organized by District E-13 of the Boston Police Department (BPD).

      Every month, Officer William Jones from the Community Service Office and Captain John Greland update the community about local crime statistics from the previous month. They also take the opportunity to provide common sense advice for how to prevent crime and to answer questions from community members. Also invited to these meetings are officials from MBTA’s Transit Police and Massachusetts State Police.

      Officer Jones provided copies of a chart comparing the year-to-date Part One crime statistics from January 2019 with January 2020. Part One crimes are those that are more serious in nature, and don’t include lesser crimes such as vandalism, drug dealing or possession of firearms.

      In order to interpret the Part One crime statistics, it’s important to know the difference between robbery, burglary and larceny. Robbery is the taking of someone’s property directly from that person using intimidation or force. Burglary, also known as breaking and entering is unlawfully accessing a building with the intent to commit theft. Larceny deprives someone of their property but it doesn’t include force (like robbery) or breaking and entering (like burglary.) An example of larceny would be bike theft or shoplifting.

      According to the chart, in January there were 90 reported Part One crimes in Jamaica Plain, down from 99 this time last year, a reduction of nine percent. Crimes that saw a decrease in 2020 included residential burglary, other burglary and other larceny. Crimes that saw an uptick in 2020 included robbery and attempted, domestic and non-domestic aggravated assault, auto theft, commercial burglary and motor vehicle larceny. Crimes that saw no change from this time last year include homicide, and rape and attempted.

      Part One crime is on a downward trend in JP. Officer Jones cited the fact that there has only been four residential break-ins so far in 2020, which he called incredible. Last year was statistically one of the best years the department has seen in the past decade.

      Officer Jones noted that JP has seen a slight uptick in robberies. He said this was related to a spike in juvenile offenders in the city as a whole.

      “We’ve arrested several and have our eyes on over two dozen suspects,” he told the Gazette.

      To help redirect negative behavior by teens, District E-13 has been working closely with social service agencies, the court system and elected officials.

      “We’ve also had support from the parents of these juveniles and we’re all cautiously optimistic,” he said. The police and community relations meeting is on the first Thursday of every month at 6:30pm at Curtis Hall at 20 South Street. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 5. A Spanish language version of this meeting is also held on the second Thursday of every month at 6:30pm at 155 Lamartine Street. These meetings are open to the public and all interested residents are encouraged to attend.