On Thursday, April 1, District E13 of the Boston Police Department hosted its monthly virtual police and community relations meeting. Around 10 members of the public were in attendance.
The monthly meeting is an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of local law enforcement. At every meeting, officers provide year-to-date crime statistics. One chart examines Part One crime data. Part One crimes are more serious in nature, and don’t include lesser crimes such as vandalism, drug dealing or illegal possession of firearms.
Part One crime distinguishes between burglary, robbery and larceny. Burglary involves accessing a residence or business unlawfully with the intent to remove items. Robbery is taking items off one’s person by force or intimidation. Larceny doesn’t involve force, and includes shoplifting, pickpocketing or stealing lawn items.
According to the summary, Part One crime is down 26 percent in the city compared to this time last year. There have been 2,848 reported crimes, compared to 3,848 last year.
Crimes that saw a decrease include rape and attempted, robbery and attempted, domestic and non-domestic assault, commercial burglary and larceny from a motor vehicle. Crimes that saw an uptick include residential burglary (up by one) and auto theft. The number of homicides and other larceny remained the same.
Regarding the spike in auto thefts, Officer William Jones noted that 67 percent of victims had left their keys in the ignition. He cautions residents against leaving keys in a vehicle, even when locked.
A second chart compared the statistics of fatal and nonfatal shootings from 2020 to 2021. Jamaica Plain had three so far this year, accounting for just over 10 percent of total shootings in the city. This number is on par with Hyde Park. Only Roxbury, Mattapan and Dorchester’s District C11 saw higher numbers. Overall, however, shootings are down by almost seven percent from 2020.
Members of the community talked about potentially changing the format of the meeting to allow for more discussion of public safety issues and law enforcement procedure.
The police and community relations meeting is held on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30pm on Zoom. The next meeting will be on Thursday, May 6. All members of the public interested in public safety are encouraged to attend.