The Christian Science Monitor, May 2024
Some of the crime statistics coming out of Boston lately have been almost hard to believe. Last year saw a historic low in shootings, with only 37 people killed – compared with 200 or more in similar-size cities such as Detroit; Memphis, Tennessee; and Washington. Remarkably, this year is even better. Homicides are down 82%, according to the Boston Police Department – the biggest drop of any major city in the United States. Shooting incidents are down 44%.
As of May, only three people have been murdered in Boston this year. Yet only 31% of Bostonians believe the police treat everyone equally regardless of race, according to a 2021 WBUR poll. Among Black respondents, that number was 17%.
Boston is at once a prime example of what is going right in policing and of how much remains to be done. The city has been a pioneer since the 1990s in policing strategies that embrace communities as partners and collaborators. Those are now paying off, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox has said.
