Dorchester residents gathered last Wednesday night (Oct. 7) for a public safety meeting addressing a churn of low level crime and specifically prompted by an attack on night of Sept. 27, in which a woman on Harbor View Street was robbed and sexually assaulted at knifepoint. The victim was reportedly observing the super-moon eclipse when she was accosted.

“This kind of thing has never happened here,” said city councillor Frank Baker, who convened the meeting at the Little House last Wednesday night along with Boston Police. “I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Police were called at about 11 p.m. The assault suspect, described as a black male in his 20s of medium build with short black curly hair and a small amount of facial hair, has not been apprehended. A security camera near the scene showed the suspect, police said, who appeared to be wearing his hair in “two distinct braids” and may have left in a black SUV.

That a car was involved, police said at the meeting, may indicate that the man was from outside the neighborhood. Every available resource is being directed toward solving the case, said George Julianel with the sexual assault unit, although the unit deals with over 900 cases annually.

Police presence is being increased in the area and a camera was installed at Robert E. Ryan playground Wednesday, Baker said. In response to a woman’s request, superintendent Bernard O’Rourke with the bureau of field services said a police cruiser would be regularly stationed near the rear of the station from for a few hours in the evening.

The meeting also covered general safety concerns, including thefts from vehicles, prostitution, and the increased homeless population after the closing of the Long Island shelter. Many attendees expressed feeling grossly underserved by police, reporting slow response times and an uptick in low-level criminal activity in their area.

Almost all measures of violent crime have dropped in the past five years, with the exception being commercial breaking and entering, according to O’Rourke. Police data shows that part one crime has decreased by 15 percent since this time last year in D-4, and 11 percent across the city.

Yet, as one resident put it, “we don’t feel safer. It feels like it’s getting worse.” He was echoed by residents of Jones Hill, who have been experiencing a series of thefts from motor vehicles.

Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross asserted that “judges are dropping the ball” by sending repeat offenders back out onto the street with disconcerting regularity; an unnamed Dorchester judge was a particular example, he said. Gross guessed that most of those arrested for robbery, assault, or firearms charges have a number of similar convictions on their records already.

Questions were raised regarding the most appropriate and effective way to report both crimes in progress and potential criminal behavior. Calling 911 is the best course of action, O’Rourke said.

Many at the meeting recounted horror stories of slow or nonexistence police response. Joe Baker, city councillor Baker’s brother, said he has called police multiple times to report suspicious or criminal activity and waited half an hour or longer for a response if he even got one.

While there are “breakdowns” in the efficiency of a system which relies on civilian dispatchers correctly prioritizing emergency calls -- “you are not speaking directly with a police officer," Gross explained -- police said it remains the best system currently in place to deal with emergencies.

An exchange between the Bakers and another resident escalated as the resident decried the amount of prostitution in the area and a corresponding number of related paraphenalia left in the open. Joe Baker loudly posited that those concerns should be of lower priority in light of the violent rape.

Frank Baker insisted, “You can’t tell me it hasn’t gotten better” of late, referring to the overall decline in prostitution with an increased police presence along Dorchester Avenue and a john-foused zero-tolerance policy for solicitation.

Though most cameras in the area are traffic cameras which do not record video, Baker said he hopes to increase the number of recording cameras in strategic areas.

For women interested in learning about personal protection, R.A.D self-defense courses will be available on Monday Oct. 19, Tuesday Oct. 20, Monday Oct. 26, and Tuesday Oct. 27. All courses will be hosted by officers from D-4 at 5:30 p.m. at the Little House at 275 E. Cottage Street in Dorchester.