On Thursday, Feb. 4, District E-13 of the Boston Police Department (BPD) hosted 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, 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.
According to the summary, Part One crime is down 33 percent in the city of Boston compared to this time last year. So far this year, there have been 79 reported crimes, compared to 105 last year, a decrease of 25 percent. This represents a greater reduction in crime than in the neighborhoods of East Boston, South Boston, Brighton, West Roxbury and Hyde Park.
The new year is starting off on a good note. The only Part One crime that has seen an uptick compared to 2020 is auto theft. Crimes that saw a decrease so far this year include rape and attempted, robbery and attempted, domestic assault, non-domestic assault, all burglary and all larceny. The homicide rate of zero remains the same.
It is important to understand the distinction between burglary, robbery and larceny. Burglary is also known as breaking and entering, and involves accessing a residence or business unlawfully with the intent to remove items. Robbery is taking items off of one’s person by force or intimidation. Larceny does not involve force, and includes things like shoplifting, pickpocketing or stealing items from one’s lawn.
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, March 4. All members of the public interested in public safety are encouraged to attend.