‘METHADONE MILE’
Officer attack highlights troubles
The “Methadone Mile” in the South End has been a sore spot for years and it all came to a head on Thursday after police said a corrections officer was beaten by a crowd of people on Atkinson Street as he was reporting to work.
The assault has led to 19 arrests and a call to clean up the mile — with District 3 City Councilor Frank Baker saying the violence and aggressive behavior in his district is “not conducive to a good neighborhood.”
Baker said inappropriate behavior has overburdened residents and local businesses.
“When you’re going to the South End, there’s behaviors like people defecating on front steps and open needles right on the street, it’s not good to live with,” Baker told the Herald.
With drug use at the forefront of the issue, Baker said, he’d like to see “a real Section 35 program which would be civil holds and direct people into treatment centers.”
Baker added that more resources centered on longterm treatment options, additional bathrooms in the area, heavy police presence and a dedicated task force are also necessary.
So far this year, police have responded to over 200 medical or drug-related calls along Methadone Mile, according to Boston Crime Incident Reports. In 2016, they responded to 31.
The Methadone Mile is located near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard — home to treatment clinics and homeless shelters.
District 2 City Councilor Ed Flynn said one viable solution is reopening recovery centers on Long Island. He added: “Those programs were working and were effective and it is important that we continue to work hard to ensure that Long Island is reopened.
“We always have to remember it is a neighborhood where people live and they have families and there are a lot of businesses in that area as well, so it’s about quality of life issues, it’s about public safety and it’s about helping people get into drug treatment programs,” said Flynn.
Several people who work and live in the area said addicts buy, sell and use drugs openly.
John Holland, who has worked at Boston University Medical Center for the past 12 years, said he has