Hub dodges a bullet
Homicides, gun violence down, bucking national trend – though rape takes upturn
An alarming jump in killings in the U.S. made the first year of the pandemic a nightmare for many, the FBI announced Monday, but Boston escaped that carnage.
So far this year, 20 people have been fatally shot in the city, statistics from January through Sunday show. That’s down from 37 fatal shootings over the same timeframe in 2020, police report.
Gun arrests are up and violent crime is down 16% year-to-date, police add. But it hasn’t come easy.
“Political leadership in this city should do more to expand the faith community partnership with the police,” said the Rev. Eugene Rivers, founder of the Violence Reduction Task Force. “Boston has distinguished itself in the nation for having the most collaborative model.”
As the Herald reported last month, every Wednesday over the last 23 years, clergy, police and community advocates have gathered around a table at the Ella J. Baker House in Dorchester to try to save Boston’s soul.
They begin with a prayer by Rivers, but that’s about as much religion as there is during the hour.
They are trying to help a city where nearly one in five lives are below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and where violent crime is down overall, but where gun violence has left people shaken, particularly in the poorest neighborhoods.
“What we’re doing too infrequently gets credit,” Rivers said Monday. “As crime increases elsewhere, as the FBI is reporting, the liberal media here in Boston won’t talk about our collaborative model.”
The clergy and community police — including Youth Service Officer Emmanuel “Manny” Dambreville who mentors city kids — keep hitting the streets to help curb crime, Rivers said.
The FBI reported Monday that homicides in the U.S. spiked by almost 30% in 2020. The pandemic, experts say, likely played a role.
“COVID-19 likely did have an impact. People were under increased psychological and financial pressure during the pandemic. Criminologists have long pointed to ‘strain theory’ to explain criminal behavior,” criminologist Justin Nix of the University of Nebraska Omaha told the Associated Press.
“Stressors — such as unemployment, isolation and uncertainty about the future — can lead to increased frustration and anger,” Nix added. “People experiencing these negative emotions are more prone to turn to crime when they lack access to more positive coping mechanisms.”
Houston, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago, the FBI reports, all saw gunplay skyrocket.
In Boston, only rape and attempted rapes are up — 6.8%. Almost every other crime category, however, shows a decline year-overyear.
“These recent crime statistics are a product of the hard work of the dedicated men and women of the Boston Police. These officers work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure public safety for the residents of the City of Boston,” Gregory Long, BPD Superintendentin-Chief, said.
Long added: “We continue to work with our community partners to strengthen our existing relationship with the shared goal of ensuring safe neighborhoods throughout our city.”