Wu, Cox Highlight Reduction in Murders, Shootings in 2024

Special to the Patriot-Bridge

Boston Mayor Michele Wu and Police Commissioner Michael Cox, along with Isaac Yablo, a senior city advisor for public safety in the mayor’s office, held a press conference at Boston Police Dept. (BPD) headquarters this past Friday to highlight the significant reduction in the murder rate and shootings in the city in 2024. 

Mayor’s Office Photographer John Wilcox
Boston Mayor Michele Wu, (right) along with Police Commissioner
Michael Cox, comment on Boston’s crime dropping.

Cox began the session by noting that the 2024 statistics represent “an historic run” (which has resulted in Boston being named the safest big city in America by the Economist magazine and the Gallup poll survey), highlighted by a 33% reduction in homicides year-over-year to a record-low total of 24 and a 14% reduction in total incidents of gunfire to 307, which also is a record-low.

“We thought it important to lay out what we have done and what we plan on doing about crime and safety in the city,” said Cox. “Our mission is to partner with the community to reduce crime — our mission is community policing. The goals of the Police Department are to build trust through community partnerships, improve professionalism among the Police Dept., and to engage the community to find out the best way to use our resources to improve public safety.”

Cox then recited a number of statistics, including the 14 percent decrease in gunfire incidents year-over-year and a 37 percent decline over the past five years. He said 2024 saw the lowest number of gunfire incidents since 2011 when the city began tracking those stats. In addition, shooting victims have declined by seven percent compared to 2023, by 18 percent compared to the five-year average, and by nearly 40 percent compared to the 10-year average.

Over the previous 20 years, the city has averaged 260 shooting victims per year, but over the past three years this has declined by more than 100 victims per year; 2024 saw the third consecutive year of declines and the third consecutive year of fewer than 200 persons being shot in the city. 

Most significantly, the 24 homicides thus far in 2024 are the lowest number since 1957 and by far the lowest total since in-depth data-keeping began in 2007, representing a decrease of 33 percent compared to 2023 and a 37 percent decrease compared to the average over the past five years.

However, Cox noted that so-called Part 1 crimes, which include aggravated assaults, commercial burglaries, and larcenies, have increased by one percent, but overall violent crimes are down by two percent, despite the three percent increase in aggravated assaults, which is attributable mainly to an increase in domestic violence incidents.

He said property crime has increased two percent, driven mainly by a 30 percent increase in shoplifting. Commercial burglaries are up six percent, but Cox said the data shows the six percent increase is entirely related to shoplifting incidents being reclassified as burglaries by perpetrators who have been previously trespassed. Cox said commercial burglaries actually are down by 17 percent without that quirk in the stats.

“In the entire time I’ve been a police officer, the city has never been safer from violent crime. I’ve never been more proud of the city and our leadership in terms of crime and crime reduction,” Cox concluded.

Mayor Wu (who began her remarks by speaking in Spanish) said, “Boston is recognized as a national leader in community safety with numbers far lower than comparable cities.

“Safety is the foundation of everything we do in making Boston a home for everyone,” Wu continued. “Safety is not merely the absence of harm or fear or violence. It is the positive affirmation of belonging, of people feeling excited to be part of a community where they are welcome and able to use every opportunity and every part of every neighborhood.”

Wu then highlighted some of the innovations undertaken by the BPD including: the sharing of data (that previously had been privy only to the police) with the local communities that provide a shared understanding of the trends in the city, which in turn has resulted in suggestions from the community that have been helpful to the police; the largest and most diverse academy-training classes in many years; a new contract that adheres to the highest-professional standards; the deployment of community intervention teams that increase visibility and presence; and the reinstatement of weekly youth safety meetings to prevent violence.

Wu also emphasized the interconnection between the reduction in crime and violence with programs involving other city departments, particularly those conducted under the auspices of the Boston Center for Youth and Families. Wu also mentioned paid summer jobs for youth that reached a highest-ever level of 10,000 this past summer; more programming in the parks; a doubling of the level of universal pre-K; expanded early college through the school system; investments in small businesses; the increase in enrollment in the public schools for the first time in more than a decade; and the reduction in chronic absenteeism in the schools.

“It has been an all-hands-on-deck effort,” said the mayor. “This is about saving lives. The most important investment of all is to stop cycles of trauma and violence. When we do well at keeping violent crime down, we do well at doing everything else.

“But most of all,” Wu concluded, “we know there is more work to do. Today is not a victory lap. It is a report out, a reflection of the type of results we can see when we all view community safety as a collective responsibility that we share together and that everyone has a part in.” 

Yablo emphasized some of the points made by Cox and Wu. “This has been a tremendous year of success, particularly in the reduction of firearm violence,” said Yablo. He said that the city has adopted three strategies: Focusing on individuals who engage in firearm crimes; looking at how a person’s environment contributes to crime; and positive policing initiatives.

“We have done constant monitoring of what the problem is,” said Yablo. “We don’t go into any solutions without a constant and up-to-date understanding of where the problems lie. But we are not done. We will continue to get better. We cannot rest well until we are at zero.”

In response to a question from a reporter about the single-biggest reason for the good numbers, the mayor replied, “Strong coordinated leadership, the dedication of everyone moving in the same direction on the cityside and in the community, and having that commitment every day of the year to make this the focus.”

In response to a question about the open drug use that is evident in many communities, Cox responded, “We do drug investigations all the time and have become highly-responsive to our communities.” However, he added, “We’re not going to criminalize mental health issues. But we are doing more with the DA’s office and through the courts to get help for individuals. We didn’t invent the opioid crisis and we cannot arrest our way out of it, but we do need to do more to make people in our communities feel safer and we are trying to do that by becoming more agile with these teams of officers going into places to make sure that individuals know they will be held accountable.”

Cox also noted that repeat offenders are responsible for committing an outsize number of violent crimes. Yablo added that there is a dedicated unit — whom he labeled, “The ‘stop shootings  team’,” — that is focused on preventing firearm crimes by certain individuals. He said the unit has been tasked with reaching out to young people, typically ages 18-24, who have been involved with firearm crimes in the hope of reaching them while they’re still young. He noted that this is important because the typical age for both firearm-related criminals and their victims is between 27-30 years old.

“Boston’s steady decline in violent crime reflects the collective efforts of the Boston Police Department, the Office of Public Safety, community organizations, and strategic investments, including historic funding for youth summer jobs. Community safety requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, addressing cycles of trauma and violence through every facet of city services. Thank you to our police officers, first responders, and advocates for their unwavering commitment to protecting our communities,” said District 1 Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata.

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