Boston Police reported that District A-1 crime incidents are down 16% year-to-date, helped by the cold and bad weather. In the North End, there were only 7 reports for January (vs. 16 in January 2012) and few so far in February. These numbers come after a 10% decrease in all of 2012 in the North End.
“These are excellent statistics,” said Captain Thomas Lee at the February 8, 2013 North End Public Safety Meeting where the latest incidents were reviewed.
Crime is down, but parking citations are up. Specifically, there were 375 parking tickets handed out in the last 30 days, given out by Boston Police in the North End. Three officers that regularly patrol Hanover Street gave out over 4,000 collective tags last year for pubic safety violations including blocking the corners, fire hydrants and the like. Notably, BPD numbers do not include meter maids, just Boston Police issued citations.
Boston Police made four arrests last month:
- Atlantic Ave. – family domestic incident.
- 47 Charter Street – mother, 41 y/o and son, 17 y/o, were both arrested after BPD’s drug unit recovered a large amount of cocaine and prescription drugs.
- Commercial Wharf – 20 y/o arrested under an outstanding warrant.
Loud Party Calls – Since the December meeting, there have been 10 loud party calls to 911 in the North End. All were responded to by Boston Police.
Late Night Noise and Private Details
Residents continued the ongoing subject of late night noise on the streets and asked police for more assistance in addressing the problem, especially when the good weather arrives. District A-1 said they have patrol cars going through the North End / Waterfront all night long, especially on summer weekends. Officers are also assigned to commercial streets for walking patrols during heavily trafficked late night hours.
“Should they have private details? Absolutely,” said Captain Lee referring to late night bars and restaurants that can privately hire Boston Police for late night street watches outside their establishments. Currently, the only regular private police detail is at Bova’s Bakery at the corner of Prince and Salem Streets.
Captain Lee also referred to his guidance at the last North End / Waterfront Neighborhood Council meeting regarding the neighborhood group’s role in supporting (or opposing) late night alcohol licenses.
Crime Statistics
Total crime statistics are shown below for the last 30 days, ending February 7, 2013. Some lowlights:
- Aggravated Assault 1/12/13 – Girlfriend punched her boyfriend, pulled out a pocketknife and chased him down Commercial Street.
- Breaking & Entering – There were 2 B&Es in the last month at 3 Baldwin Court and 110 Commercial Street.
- Larceny – 98 N. Washington St. – An iPhone was taken from an office desk.
- Stolen Car – 1/30/13 on Prince Street.
If they could walk the streets and give out parking tickets when there is a bruins or celtics game they could make a fortune from cars without resident parking stickers & it would be a great help to those of us who live there of maybe having a hope of finding a spot during those times!
Agreed, I think they could get that number from 375 parking tickets up to 3,750 no problem with such a tactic.
There’s so much illegal parking on Thursday and Friday nights, and all day every weekend and garden event night in Resident Only spots.
Notice that the 375 number listed is only for police citations, not meter maids (who give out the majority of tickets…including all non-resident violations). It would be nice if they were slightly lenient on the residents knowing the terrible parking situation. I have a ticket I’m about to go fight where the tail end of my car (not even the rear tire, just about a foot at the end) was sticking out behind the “No parking here to corner” sign. That is complete BS and makes people hate the meter maids. These people need to understand the situation here!
I wish they would patrol more during bruins and celtics games because so many people without resident parking stickers park there and there’s no hope for residents to find a spot!