On Thursday, Dec. 2, District E-13 police officers hosted its final police and community relations meeting of 2021. The meeting is an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of local law enforcement.
Sgt. John Dougherty provided 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 14 percent in the city compared to this time last year. District E-13 is showing a 25 percent reduction. There were 757 crimes reported in 2020 and only 565 reported this year. Most crimes have seen a decrease, including homicide, robbery, assault, commercial and residential burglary, larceny from a motor vehicle and other larceny. Only rape and auto theft saw an increase over this time last year.
Sgt. Dougherty also displayed a graph of fatal and nonfatal shootings per month over the past three years. Overall shootings are down 27 percent in the city compared to last year, and District E-13 has seen a 35 percent decrease. Precinct E-13 currently ranks fourth in shootings, behind Mattapan, Roxbury and Dorchester. Jamaica Plain saw 13 shootings so far this year, accounting for under seven percent of total shootings in the city.
The police and community relations meeting is held on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30pm on Zoom. All members of the public interested in public safety are encouraged to attend.