On Thursday, Jan. 7, District E13 of the Boston Police Department (BPD) hosted its first virtual police and community relations meeting of 2021. The monthly meeting, which is carried out virtually over Zoom, 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 things like vandalism, drug dealing or illegal possession of firearms.
Overall crime is down in the city of Boston. In terms of total Part One crime, District E13 declared 2020 its lowest crime year in a decade. According to the summary, there were 810 reported crimes in 2020, almost half of the 1,499 crimes reported in 2011. Last year saw an 11 percent decrease in crime over 2019.
Crimes that saw a decrease in 2020 included non-domestic aggravated assault, residential and other burglary, other larceny and auto theft. Crimes that saw an uptick in 2020 included rape, robbery, domestic aggravated assault, commercial burglary, and larceny from a motor vehicle. The homicide rate remained the same.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a noticeable impact on crime in 2020. With more people at home during the day due to the work-from-home boom, residential burglary was down 62 percent from 2019. In contrast, commercial burglary was up 20 percent as shops were shuttered.
A second chart compared the statistics of fatal and nonfatal shootings from 2019 to 2020. Jamaica Plain saw 20 total shootings in 2020, up from 18 in 2019, an increase of 11 percent. However, there was a 25 percent reduction in fatal shootings.
The police and community relations meeting is held on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30pm. Members of the public who have safety concerns are encouraged to attend