Crime is Down in the North End

Captain Thomas Lee, Sgt. Thomas Lema and Officer Teddy Boyle delivered good news to North End residents on January 3 at the Nazzaro Center on North Bennet Street.

Capt. Lee began the meeting by providing final numbers.

He reported crime for the North End overall is down 10 percent in 2012 while the rest of the district is up 7 percent.

In the last 30 days, Lee said, there have been no homicides, no sexual assault, no breaking and entering, three general larcenies and no reported graffiti.

Officer Boyle provided the following information:

• On December 6, a man was around all day on the corner of Prince and Salem Street;
• December 23, there was a party where a man was arrested for disturbing the peace and the owner of the property was summonsed for keeping a disorderly house;
• There were five automobile thefts on December 6, 7, 10, 16, 17;
• Three larcenies at St. Leonard’s Church on December 6; December 15 at Prince and Hanover streets; December 17 at 100 Atlantic Avenue; and December 10 at 2 Battery Wharf.

A man at the meeting asked why the police do not do more to prevent thefts from cars, noting that the police could put a new laptop in a car and then just watch it until something happened.

Capt. Lee noted that the police have to prioritize their work by both manpower and expense.

“The most preventable crime is keeping valuables out of your car and keeping it locked,” he said.

“We educate the public to lock their cars, take their keys and the incidents go way down,” added Sgt. Lema.

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