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Local Boston Police commanders discussed anti-crime strategies with neighbors during a lengthy public meeting in Codman Square on Monday evening that featured repeated concerns about late-night disturbances caused by large gatherings of revelers that have frustrated police and residents alike this summer.
The meeting was co-sponsored by Councillor Brian Worrell and Maridena Rojas, the city’s Violence Intervention Program (VIP) director for Dorchester and Mattapan, and brought both police districts together in a rare open forum.
District C-11, under Capt. Mike McCarthy, covers most of the eastern side of the neighborhood over to Washington Street, while District B-3, under Capt. Sean McCarthy (no relation), encompasses most of the west side of Dorchester, including Mattapan.
Capt. Sean McCarthy of B-3 watched as Capt. Mike McCarthy of C-11 read off public safety statistics from the year during a rare open forum for the community and both police districts for Dorchester and Mattapan. Seth Daniel photo
The commanders were seated alongside other BPD officials and State Probation Commissioner Pamerson Ifill on the stage of the Great Hall as residents pleaded for help against street takeovers, reckless moped riders, and other quality-of-life disruptions that sometimes lead to violence.
Police in both districts have employed summertime streets closures at select locations such as Talbot Avenue and Hamilton Street to curb the late-night gatherings, and while these tactics have worked to relieve acute problems in one setting, they often push the gatherings to other locations.
“When we show up, a lot of times we are outnumbered,” said Sgt. Shawn Harris, a community service officer assigned to B-3. “Both districts have that problem. Recently we were trying to shut down Columbia Road and had 500 people in the street. You have two or four officers showing up and you’re inundated. You can’t disperse a crowd that large, and you call in other districts for help and that can take time, or maybe they’re busy, too.”
Said C-11’s McCarthy of one recent “takeover” on Morrissey Boulevard: “When we arrive they scatter, but we’re able to capture license plates and the fines are pretty hefty for what they’re doing down there. That tends to be a good deterrent…We don’t chase cars, but it doesn’t mean we don’t take enforcement action.”
Though the most recent crime stats posted by BPD show an overall 3 percent drop in “part-one” crime this year in the B-3 police district, and a 6 percent increase in C-11, quality of life problems that often elude data sets were the focus of Monday’s session.
A panel of officers, and state Probation Commissioner Pamerson Ifill, answered questions on Monday night that centered on festering quality of life issues that many times escalate to serious violence. Seth Daniel photo
Several residents who spoke said late-night loud parties and street takeovers continue to be a problem most weekends.
“My windows rattle, and my floors shake from the volume of the music until 2 a.m. pretty much every single Sunday the whole summer,” said Steve Doyle, who lives nearby. “I’ve been told to call 9-1-1 and sometimes units respond but it doesn’t seem like they do anything.”
A group of young mothers from the Ashmont Hill area were frustrated with mopeds, scooters, loud music, and harassment, in Roberts Park – saying it is sometimes dangerous to walk with baby strollers and small children.
“We’re trying to have a good quality of life and I’ve been here 10 years,” said one young mother who wasn’t identified. “People are not going to stay here and raise their families if we don’t do something about these things. Why aren’t we doing anything about that?” she said.
Taking a different approach, two neighbors from the Bowdoin-Geneva area worried that increased enforcement, combined with using new camera technology to bolster that effort, could result in young people being “overpoliced.”
“What does this look like?” asked one resident in regard to increased enforcement and camera enforcement proposals. “What it seems to look like here to me is the beginning of overpolicing…People have the right to enjoy life as much as people have the right to enjoy silence. If the music is so loud at 2 a.m,. then that’s reasonable to address. But we can’t do this again. We have come so far away from this.”
Marti Glynn, who lives near Uphams Corner, said smaller issues too often morph into serious acts of violence.
“You are down so many positions in the police department and are asked to do so much more with so few resources,” she said, noting that her street recently witnessed a double shooting.
“When I look at the data,” she said, “what I see is a looming public safety crisis. I’ve seen a 16 year old die in front of my eyes out in front of my home. I had called about elevating problems on the street and 20 minutes later that young man was dead. I don’t want to see that again. It shouldn’t have to come to people being harmed, sometimes killed, to get something done.”
Said C-11’s Mike McCarty: “I agree with all you said.” Yet, he added, numbers on police forces across the nation are down. Officers at the meeting noted when they took the Civil Service Exam there were 13,000 test takers for about 66 positions. In a recent police officer exam, fewer than 1,000 took it.
“It’s a nationwide problem, but we do feel it here too,” said C-11 Officer Tom Porter.
On a positive note, BPD Community Impact Teams (CITs) that were eliminated due to staffing issues will be coming back in October for both districts, the captains said. The teams focused on shoplifting when introduced last year.
“It was a really a staffing issue because we have minimum requirements and when we fall below those minimums officers have to be in cars responding to calls,” said Capt. Mike McCarthy. “That should change come October when the new class of recruits comes out of the academy.”
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