Boston police ‘pivoting’ to address new safety concerns downtown

Local News

After the city cleared an encampment last year, new pockets of illegal activity spread through the city.

The Boston Police Department is in the midst of a “very deliberate pivot” meant to address growing public safety concerns in specific areas around the city, including the downtown area in and around Boston Common. 

Deputy Superintendent Dan Humphreys laid out the current strategy during a Boston City Council hearing on Tuesday. The goal is to increase the visibility of police officers in certain problem areas and to emphasize community engagement, with an eye towards addressing quality of life issues and making people feel safer in their communities. 

Councilors also heard testimony from community groups and many residents who voiced concerns about increasing drug use, drug dealing, violence, potential human trafficking, and a general sense of “lawlessness” downtown. 

Mayor Michelle Wu and other city officials frequently tout the fact that Boston saw a stunning decrease in its homicide rate this year. But residents living downtown are now registering an uptick in some other forms of criminal activity that they perceive as going unpunished. 

“I keep hearing the same talking point from City Hall, which is, ‘We’re the safest city in the country.’ We are. But again, you’ve got to click in and understand the data that underlies that. What isn’t included?” Rishi Shukla, co-founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, said during the hearing. “Perception is reality for anybody who lives in a place 24/7.”

The new concerns appear to be part of the fallout from Wu’s decision to clear a major encampment that had sprung up near the area known as Mass. and Cass last year, according to police. The encampment on Atkinson Street was a hotbed of drug use and many other illegal activities. Responding to a rise in public safety incidents there, the Wu administration enforced a new ordinance designed to prevent people from living in tents there last fall. 

Despite the current problems, clearing that area was the right call, Humphreys said. The amount of people gathering there to use drugs had become a barrier to outreach. Workers trying to connect people with recovery treatment, housing, and other services were forced to withdraw out of fear for their own safety. Those living in the encampment were victimized by drug dealers and human traffickers. 

“We all knew what went on down there. Humanity wept for what was going on down there. The encampment had to be displaced,” Humphreys said. “It had to go.”

Displacing the encampment into smaller pockets allows service providers and police to now handle situations on a more individualized, and effective, level. BPD Commissioner Michael Cox is recognizing the “displacement and overflow” caused by the encampment being cleared in places across the city, from downtown to Nubian Square in Roxbury and Andrew Square in South Boston. 

The BPD had been “hyper-focused” on Mass. and Cass, Humphreys said. Now, the department is trying to take a step back and assess the entire city to find small, specific areas that would benefit from more police. Cox is sending a clear message that visibility and interaction with community members should be prioritized. 

Using 911 calls, 311 complaints, and other data, BPD officers are “not guessing.” Instead, new  “community interaction teams” are being deployed to targeted areas where most issues arise. The intention is for officers to simply get out on foot and be present there during certain windows of time.

One example officials highlighted was the area around Brewer Fountain, near the Park Street MBTA Station. BPD is receiving immediate positive feedback after focusing on these areas, Humphreys said. In addition, officers are being told to look out for things that other city departments can address, and to submit 311 complaints themselves if necessary. 

Barriers to safety

A serious barrier to the work being done is the rise of fentanyl addiction among those congregating in these locations. The addiction is so powerful, Humphreys said, some users need to get high five or more times a day. Dealers are preying on users, utilizing them to go into areas that they themselves are afraid to go. People then need to sell drugs in order to keep their own connections to the dealers intact. Humphreys calls it “double victimization.”

Councilor Ed Flynn, who filed the initial hearing order, said he has heard from countless residents, business owners, and others about the deterioration of public safety downtown. Parents worry about their children, businesses are increasing security, and some tour guides are choosing to skip Boston Common altogether, he said. 

Flynn is a vocal advocate for increasing police resources and cracking down on crime. After a stabbing in Downtown Crossing over the summer, he even called for some already-scheduled events on the Common to be canceled in the interest of safety. 

“We need to have a zero-tolerance policy for any criminal activity, and arrest criminals when they are committing illegal activities,” he said. “We need a safe downtown crossing, we need a safe Boston Common. Progress is being made. We have to stay on top of this issue.”

Other councilors agreed that progress was being made, and that public safety concerns should not be taken lightly. They also stressed the need to avoid “sensationalizing” the issue. Councilor Sharon Durkan said she has heard directly from commercial real estate professionals who say that the current discourse about public safety downtown might harm businesses. If these businesses avoid the downtown area, community engagement and public safety will be negatively affected as well. 

“While I share concerns raised at this hearing, I caution us against perpetuating a narrative that could cause potential harm to our city’s vitality and reputation,” Durkan said. “Yes, we have the duty to steward an environment that upholds public order and safety. But we must do so with nuance, precision, and without creating unnecessary fear.”