Crime, arrests up on Mass and Cass this year, police say

Crimes, arrests and calls for service are all up in the Mass and Cass area this year, police report as locals become increasingly frustrated with the Methadone Mile hotel and shelter.

“Public safety, quality of life concerns continue to plague the area,” Lt. Peter Messina told South End locals as he walked them through a slide presentation about the state of the troubled Mass and Cass area. “With the increase in crime, there’s been a drastic increase in the amount of individuals arrested out there.”

Messina, head of the outreach unit and general police response in the the area known for its openair drug market, laid out the numbers in a call to community members on Thursday — showing “violent crime” up 26% and arrests jumping 77%.

“The numbers have increased,” Messina told those assembled virtually for the South End, Newmarket and Roxbury Working Group on Addiction, Recovery, and Homelessness, which is hosted by a conglomeration of neighborhood groups.

The violent crime jump went from 70 incidents through May 17 in 2021 to 88 in that time this year. That’s driven in small increases in most violent crimes, but a larger bump in robberies.

There were three homicides through this point last year, but one this year.

He said that just the previous night someone got stabbed on Albany Street, and the cops arrested a suspect.

Property crime dipped by 4%, driven by a decrease in larcenies. The overall number of crimes reported in the area sometimes known as Methadone Mile went from 249 to 259, a 4% increase.

But arrests have far outpaced those jumps, Messina said. Cops have nabbed 140 people this year, as opposed to 79 at this point last year, he said. He cited some “good arrests” lately, of dealers and traffickers.

“We definitely cannot arrest our way out of this. We’ve tried in the past, and it does not work,” Messina said, echoing a common refrain around addiction issues.

But he said that there’s too much of a “revolving door” of people being picked up and then spat right back out on the street.

He said one woman who they picked up on active warrants got cuffed around 10:30 a.m. one recent morning and was back on the Mile around 4 p.m.

“That sends the wrong message for everyone else out there,” Messina said.

He said the area keeps drawing new people because there’s a “perception” that “people can openly use drugs openly buy drugs, with no repercussions whatsoever.”

Messina said 911 calls are also up 41%, suggesting both a continuation of problems but also more willingness for people to call for emergency services.

Also in the meeting, several of the community members said the former Roundhouse hotel, which Boston Medical Center has taken over for temporary housing and other services right in the middle of the area, is causing more problems.

“We’re getting a lot of activity around the Roundhouse,” said Jerry DiPierro, who owns a business next door.

He said he regularly sees people figuring out ways to deal drugs in the area right around the building that’s supposed to be getting people off the street and in with services.

BMC officials said they would talk to their security team to try to make them more visible.

Steve Fox of the South End Forum neighborhood group said it seems that BMC should have a “complete reevaluation” of the safety plan at the Roundhouse.

“You should take these comments as the canary in the mine of what we’re going to see as the weather gets warmer,” he said.