By Eve Zuckoff, WBUR
Boston’s homicide rate has increased this year, with 31 deaths to date, up from last year’s historic low of 24. The hike didn’t surprise Police Commissioner Michael Cox, who had warned the public in August that the city was on track to exceed the homicide rate from 2024, which was the lowest since Boston began tracking the figure.
While the commissioner didn’t offer an explanation for the uptick in murders at a press conference on Monday, he said the figure remains low and used the occasion to highlighted progress in other areas.
“Year to date, the number of shooting victims and instances of gunfire in the city are both currently at historic lows,” he said, noting they are down more than 30 percent compared to five-year averages.
Cox spoke at the new Boston EMS training center in West Roxbury. He was joined by Mayor Wu and leaders from fire, emergency services, and public health departments for a year-end recap of the city’s public safety record.
Boston’s safety record is something the mayor touts routinely, particularly in the face of criticism from the Trump administration. At the press conference, she reiterated the message that Boston is safe city.
Cox offered further updates on police efforts to crack down on retail theft, boost community policing and address “reckless operations” of motor scooters.
“Our statistics show that this is not only a quality-of-life issue, but a traffic safety issue,” he said of the scooter riders. He said officers have seized more than 840 scooters, including 160 from the downtown area this year, marking a 22 percent jump from 2024.
On efforts to reduce drugs, crime, and homelessness around the intersection known as Mass. and Cass, he said officers have made 54 percent more arrests in the past year. The police and the mayor have been under pressure from neighbors, particularly in the South End, to do more on the issue.
The press conference came in the wake of two fatal mass shootings over the weekend, one at Brown University and another in Australia.
“ It is unthinkable that we live in a world where you don’t even have time to process one major horrific incident of violence before the next takes place,” Wu said, offering condolences to both communities. “And all the more reason why it is important for us to focus on safety, to double down on community members knowing that they can trust and be in community together.”
She also noted that the city took 673 guns off the street in the past year.
This article was published by WBUR on Dec. 15. The Reporter and WBUR share content through a media partnership.
