On Thursday, Aug. 5, District E-13 of the Boston Police Department (BPD) presented its monthly virtual police and community relations meeting, where it shared the most recent crime statistics compiled by the Boston Regional Intelligence Center.
One chart examined Part One crime data. Part One crimes are more serious in nature, and don’t include vandalism, drug dealing or other minor crimes.
According to the chart, Part One crime in JP is down 29 percent compared to this time last year, beating the citywide reduction of 16 percent. Only 334 crimes were reported this year, compared to 473 in 2020.
Significantly, most crimes have seen a decrease, including homicide, robbery, assault, burglary, and larceny. Only auto theft saw an increase over this time last year. The incidence of rape remained the same.
Another graph showed the number of fatal and nonfatal shootings over the past three years. Historically, Boston has seen a rise in shootings during the summer. In July of 2020, it had 48 shootings, the highest monthly number in fifteen years.
Despite the warmer weather, shootings in the city are down 24 percent compared to last year, and JP has seen a 43 percent decrease. However, out of the twelve precincts, E-13 currently ranks fifth in shootings, after Roxbury, Mattapan, Dorchester and South Boston.
The police and community relations meeting is an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of local law enforcement. It is held on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30pm on Zoom. The next meeting will be on Sept. 2. All members of the public interested in public safety are encouraged to attend.