Overall crime is down by 5 percent so far this year on the Area C-11 police district that covers much of eastern Dorchester, according to the Boston Police Department, but larcenies are on the rise, many of them driven by a specific crime: shoplifting. Capt. Steve Sweeney, who commands the C-11 district, told members of the Codman Square Neighborhood Council (CSNC) last week that officers are planning a “sting” operation aimed at the problem.
The deployment, he said, will be modeled on what Sweeney says was a successful approach in May in which detectives focused on several hard-hit pharmacy stores: CVS on Washington Street, Walgreen’s in Codman Square, Target in Fields Corner, and the CVS in Lower Mills.
“We did a couple of stings that resulted in arrests and we’re getting good cooperation from the courts,” Sweeney said during the meeting. “We’re trying to make a dent in that now…We’re looking to do that again and we’re trying to send a message. It’s frustrating to go in as a customer and everything is locked up and you have to get a clerk to help. We’re trying to help the businesses with that.”
The district’s “other larcenies” category shows a significant increase over last year’s figures and the five-year average, Sweeney said. He noted there have been 490 incidents to day this year compared to 454 at the same time last year.
The five-year average for this time of year is 309 reports.
The previous shoplifting sting took place at the four stores mentioned above on May 21 and 28. An additional eight officers with detectives were assigned to the operation and it resulted in five arrests, Sweeney said.
Sweeney noted that so-called “part one” crime statistics are down by 5 percent in the C-11 district year to date, with most every other categories also on the decline.
