Boston crime rate drops 23% as gun arrests climb

The city’s crime rate has plummeted by 23% in almost every category from homicides to rape, robberies and break-ins.

The latest year-over-year statistics posted by Boston Police show commercial burglary has dropped the most at 48.7%. Larceny from a motor vehicle and robbery and attempted robbery are next to slide, at 40.4% and 35.7% respectively.

It also hits as gun arrests have jumped nearly 32% and shootings are down 8%, statistics show.

“The more guns taken off the street it means fewer are used in shootings,” said BPD spokesman Detective Sgt. John Boyle, who added nine of the past year’s 13 homicides have been solved.

It all comes as acting Commissioner Gregory Long is at the helm while Acting Mayor Kim Janey attempts to fire suspended police Commissioner Dennis White.

All that drama, says one city observer, doesn’t help as everyone hopes for a quiet summer now that all pandemic restrictions are being lifted over the Memorial Day weekend.

“I think the police should be given support,” said Louis Elisa, a key member of the Boston Black COVID-19 Coalition.

Elisa, of Dorchester, a former regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, added he once worked for the BPD, adding “I come down on the side of fairness and honesty.”

The pandemic, he added, may have cut down on some statistical categories, but police and the community have to work together.

“It’s a hopeful sign that points to a good summer,” he said of the crime stats.

Some areas to watch, however, include car thefts, up 2.6%; and domestic assault, up 5.67%.

Tuesday night BPD reported the Boston Police Fugitive Unit arrested two suspects wanted in connection to the 2020 homicide of Sarbryon Loving. He was gunned down on Erie Street in Dorchester.

Henry Campbell, 28, of Dorchester, and Tarik Wright 23, of Roxbury, both face murder charges.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2RxIGqO