On Thursday, July 1, District E-13 police officers presented its monthly virtual police and community relations meeting. The meeting is an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of local law enforcement.
At every meeting, Sgt. John Dougherty provides local crime statistics compiled by the Boston Regional Intelligence Center. One chart examines Part One crime data. Part One crimes are more serious in nature, and don’t include crimes such as vandalism or drug dealing. 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, stealing lawn items or taking items out of a vehicle.
According to the summary, Part One crime in Boston is down 18 percent in the city compared to this time last year. District E-13 is showing an even greater reduction of 29 percent. There were 403 crimes reported in 2020 and only 288 reported this year. Significantly, most crimes have seen a decrease, including homicide, rape, robbery, assault, commercial burglary, larceny from a motor vehicle and other larceny. Only residential burglary and auto theft saw an increase over this time last year.
Sgt. Dougherty also provided a graph showing the number of fatal and nonfatal shootings per month over the past three years. Historically, Boston has seen a rise in shootings during the summer. In July of 2020, it saw 48 shootings, the highest monthly number since July of 2005.
However, overall shootings are down 17 percent in the city compared to last year, and District E-13 has seen a 70 percent decrease. Out of the twelve precincts, E-13 currently ranks seventh in shootings, accounting for just 3.4 percent of total shootings in the city, with only three so far in 2021.
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, Aug. 5. All members of the public interested in public safety are encouraged to attend.