The events of September 11, 2001 shattered a general sense of security in Boston and in the United States — changing the way city and town administrators as well as average citizens define public safety. 

OVERVIEW

The threat of terrorism is adding costs to public safety systems in fragile economic times. In Boston, expenditures for “homeland security” compete with resources needed for local public safety priorities, such as support for the large cohort of young people in the city’s neighborhoods and for programs that ease the re-entry of offenders coming out of prisons into communities with few job openings and rising housing costs.

New security mandates at Logan Airport and the Port of Boston, requests for assistance from the owners of downtown office buildings, and heightened security and emergency preparedness everywhere in the city are putting new demands on the budgets and personnel of the Boston Police and Fire Departments, as well as on Boston’s Public Health Commission. In addition to their already demanding jobs — and in an economy failing to produce the tax revenues necessary to sustain former levels of service — these personnel now face a public safety environment characterized by strained budgets, fear and uncertainty. 

In many cities in the nation, crime rates are increasing after almost a decade of consistent annual crime reductions. Boston, too, began to see spikes in some categories of violent crime in the first half of 2002, with an 80% spike in gun crime.  Compared to 2000 and 2001, for example, there were increased reports of young people using firearms to settle disputes. Following a series of highly publicized and tragic gun-related homicides in early 2002, some in the media questioned the effectiveness of “The Boston Strategy” of the 1990s — a broad set of community- and faith-based partnerships and criminal justice system alliances informed by intensive data analysis. Critics called instead for aggressive enforcement strategies such as the “zero tolerance” approaches modeled on New York City’s anti-crime program.  But Boston had been successful in dealing with youth violence and drastically reducing rates of violence in the 1990s by bringing those most affected by violence into partnership with the police and the broader community. In 2002, the Boston Police Department (BPD) responded not by pulling back from the partnership-based strategy but by reaching out to additional partners — deepening and strengthening the partnership strategy. The BPD also increased its use of data to inform and direct policy, beginning an intensive analysis of calls-for-service and crime data in an effort to better understand the dimensions of the new crime patterns. By engaging its community partners as well as new stakeholders, and examining data to analyze the growing violence on the streets, the BPD contributed to a significant decrease in gun-related crimes in the second half of 2002. And the long-term crime trend in Boston continues its downward slide.

Some new patterns of crime and violence do bear watching, however — such as the involvement of more young women, the sharing of weapons, and ex-offenders who are returning to their communities in a contracting economy that offers few jobs.

The climate of tight resources in a weak economy is challenging everyone — from committed public safety personnel, to families with children at risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of violence, to ex-offenders seeking a job, to cash-strapped non-profit organizations and faith-based institutions that have created proven models of support and prevention.

WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE 2000?

Boston’s violent crime rate dropped about 5% between 2001 and 2002, hitting a 31-year low at the end of 2002. According to experts, crime rates are cyclical with periodic spikes, requiring particular vigilance to ensure that any increases are minimal and short lived. Boston mobilized its proven faith-based and other community-based partnerships and public sector alliances to tackle the surge in crime in 2002, bringing down rates substantially by the end of the year. Overall, crime rates — including rapes, larcenies, and car thefts — were down 3% in 2002, with 60 homicides in 2002 compared to 68 in 2001 and 39 in 2000 (against the historic backdrop of 152 in 1990).

New leaders were installed in key public safety positions: Andrea Cabral, the first woman and first African American Sheriff of Suffolk County; Joseph Carter, the new the MBTA  Police Chief ; and  Daniel Conley, elected as the new Suffolk County District Attorney.

A large number of young adults returned to Boston neighborhoods after spending time in prison.  By some estimates, more than 200 inmates are being released from the Suffolk County House of Corrections each month. Most return to one of only three Boston neighborhoods with little supervision, few job prospects and greatly reduced access to transitional housing. The BPD, in partnership with community and faith-based groups, has begun a Re-Entry Initiative to provide services and increased surveillance as individuals leave prison. This builds on the community partnership model where various agencies of criminal justice — probation, parole, and corrections — ally with street workers, community-based agencies and long-time partners such as the Ten Point Coalition, and sends a consistent message to ex-offenders that a return to violence will not be tolerated. 

Due to budget cuts, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Police Commissioner Paul Evans were forced to cancel a police academy class for 60 new recruits. Commissioner Evans also reassigned a number of officers from desk jobs to the streets. Many police officers are expected to retire within the next several years.

Violence on the MBTA increased, as well as complaints of racial profiling. The MBTA’s  plainclothes unit was charged many of the violations of civil rights, and was dismantled At the same time, a well known and experienced MBTA police chief of color was appointed, leading to hopes for both greater safety and greater sensitivity and fairness. However, with several high-profile and tragic incidents of violence, the public in general and young people in particular, continued to feel wary. The MBTA tapped the red-jacketed City Year corps members as extra eyes and ears, training them to watch for behavior related to possible terrorism as well as everyday incidents that might escalate.
 
Post 9/11, civil liberties taken for granted as part of a free and democratic society are under pressure. New surveillance mechanisms and regulations as well as proposed forms of access to private communications are raising fears that some civic liberties may become casualties of terrorism.

A huge spike in white-collar crime and corruption by the heads of some of the largest corporations in the nation and the world accompanied the end of the boom economy.  As Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General said, “In an era of globalization, crime, too, has gone global, with criminals, terrorists, and drug traffickers using the same technologies and open borders to facilitate a wide range of illegal activities….” Increasingly, crime facilitated by new technologies is as much or more of a concern to law-enforcement agencies as conventional street crime.

CHALLENGES

The need to develop responses to the threat of terrorism takes time and resources away from traditional law enforcement activities.  By the end of 2002, however, not only had cities not received significant new funding from the federal government for emergency preparedness, but cuts in conventional programs were proposed.  A study by the US Conference of Mayors estimated that cities spent more than $2.6 billion for additional security costs between September 2001 and December 2002.  It concluded that the proposed cut for fiscal 2003 of nearly $600 million or 80% in the COPS program — a federal-local partnership that promotes community policing and funds additional police officers and new technology — would eliminate all funding for community-based and school-based police officer hires. Similarly, the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program, which helps local police departments pay for hiring, training, and overtime for officers, as well as equipment purchases, would be merged with another program and cut by $200 million — on top of the 25% cut the program suffered last year. The focus on resources, attention and interventions geared to protect the public from major acts of terrorism must be balanced with the need to sustain public safety every day in every community. 

More young women — sometimes as young as middle school age — are using violence to settle disputes or intimidate others.  Some attribute this trend to the unusual stresses faced by many young women today, including lack of preparation and opportunity for employment, the responsibility of raising a family as a single mother and media glorification of violence. New approaches will require many new services directed toward young women and their children.

A lack of services in the criminal justice system for girls and women.  Adult women historically have represented less than 10% of those convicted and incarcerated in the criminal justice system.  As a result, fewer services have been developed and made available for women who come in contact with the legal system.  Violent women have few treatment options; many are being returned to the settings that contributed to violent behavior in the first place.

Boston’s new racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity poses new challenges. With more than 100 distinct ethnic groups in the city and thousands of residents without English fluency, the ability to speak multiple languages is vital, according to public safety personnel. Also, in recent years, some newcomer communities have experienced violence but not yet accepted police-community partnerships. Boston police and their partners have reached out to newer members of the community alerting them to Boston’s approach to reducing violence and inviting them to join in efforts to reduce violence in their communities.

Racial profiling is a continuing concern. The disproportionate stopping and searching of African Americans and Latinos as well as people of Middle Eastern and Muslim origin, especially in the wake of 9/11, has been clearly documented. This is a constant source of concern and anger in Boston’s communities of color — particularly in view of the 1989 Carol Stuart case, in which a white perpetrator blamed a man of color for the murder of his wife.  Steps are being taken to improve documentation of racial profiling by police in order to design fairer and more effective policies.

The number of teenagers in Boston is increasing rapidly — a demographic fact — but there are still too few constructive activities available for teenagers, despite recent progress. Research shows that most juvenile crime occurs between the hours of 2:00 and 6:00 pm —the period after school and before parents or other care providers are typically available.  This finding led to Mayor Menino’s 2:00 – 6:00 Initiative and to the After School for All Partnership. But with cuts looming, recent progress made to increase the number and quality of after-school activities is at risk. There is a 500-person waiting list at the Boys and Girls Club alone and a 17,000  young people voicing interest all after-school  programs in Boston for whom there are no available slots. In addition, young people who live in higher-crime areas cannot easily walk to and from activities even when they are available.

Many Boston neighborhoods are witnessing an increase in the use of drugs, particularly heroin, among young members of the community. In the past few years, the number of young people admitted to hospitals due to heroin overdose has increased.  Street heroin has become less expensive and more potent in recent years, allowing users to sniff the drug in place of injection.  In South Boston, heroin use among young people is being addressed by a coalition of agencies that have organized to interrupt supplies of heroin to young people while providing substance abuse counseling to youth who are already using. These efforts need to be expanded within South Boston and extended to other Boston neighborhoods.

New eviction and truancy policies put new stresses on families and communities as young people from evicted families can return to their former neighborhoods to “hang out” without being easily supervised or supported. At the same time, ex-offenders are competing with younger gang members for turf, and too many young people lack activities that can keep them out of trouble. A potential recipe for increased crime, this can be averted if current partnerships remain strong and adequate resources are available.

If Boston were to move too far toward the aggressive crime reduction policies implemented in New York City, the community would resist and many partnerships would be strained or dissolved.   With new strains on the declining resources of both public and community-based agencies, it is critical that Boston residents, community-based and faith-based organizations, the BPD, the MBTA Police and other public safety personnel continue to work cooperatively to find innovative ways to prevent and reduce crime.
 

The Boston model which uses data to identify problems and community partnerships to address them is serving as a model for a major national initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods.   In this initiative, the US Department of Justice has provided funding to every US Attorney’s office across the country to implement a firearm violence reduction strategy that is data driven and based on community partnerships.  Boston pioneered the model in which arrests are considered only part of the solution. This innovative approach stresses collaboration with neighborhood-based partners, the targeting of worst offenders for punishment and proactive support for youth.
 
The BPD’s Research and Planning Department has constructed a state-of-the-art integrated database to track crime.   This database includes information from calls for assistance, incident reports, arrests, as well as information on guns that are used in crimes. Address-level information allows for the mapping of incidents and for police to pinpoint local “hot spots” of crime.  This new resource, one of the most sophisticated in the nation, is already assisting police to target specific problems and identify the few offenders who account for much of the crime affecting Boston neighborhoods.  For example, analysis by the BPD in conjunction with the US Attorney’s Office and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office uncovered a new problem — young people sharing firearms involved in multiple crimes.
 
Local clammers, well identified and well trained, are providing a ring of extra vigilance on the clam flats surrounding Logan International Airport, enhancing security. Following 9/11, the clam flats were closed to clammers to create a security perimeter around Logan Airport. Local clammers had complained to MassPort that their livelihood was being harmed and this compromise was reached. 
 
The MBTA has asked red-jacketed City Year corps members to assist as an extra set of “eyes and ears” on the MBTA. Together, the MBTA and City Year have created the Public Safety Ambassador Program to help monitor both day-to-day occurrences, such as passengers in distress, as well as a range of potential terrorist threats. The MBTA police have joined the City Year program during its basic training Academy.

The Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services collaborated with the Boston Police Department created a new and powerful dataset to analyze the pattern of service provision across various agencies. The analysis found that only a small number of families face multiple, severe problems that require disproportionate amounts of service, and tend to receive services from many public agencies — the Department of Social Services, the Department of Youth Services, the Department of Transitional Assistance, various public health agencies and various public safety agencies. The new data have created opportunities to better integrate and improve the delivery of services to needy families and to use scarce resources more efficiently.

Northeastern University has established an Institute of Research on Race and Justice, utilizing data, analysis, social science, and dialogue to create insight into contentious issues linking race and justice.  Academic partners develop and present data on a particular issue and policy makers and community members work together as equal partners to develop policies with broad acceptance and a high probability of success. The model was developed from prior research on racial profiling, which often involves anecdotes from the community and denials by local police. The Institute is also using this approach to develop more effective strategies for dealing with the differential impact of some zero tolerance policies in schools.

LINKS

Boston Police Department
The Boston Police Department provides monthly crime statistics by neighborhood and statistics specifically relating to domestic violence or sexual assault. Information on its various units is provided as well.

The Boston Strategy to Prevent Youth Violence
A coalition of eight “players” in violence prosecution and prevention. Website provides links, program information, and contact information.

Massachusetts Court System
Provides list of all individual court divisions, press releases, pdf complaint forms, and a self-help resource list.

Massachusetts Attorney Generals Office
Official website for the commonwealth's chief law officer. Provides information about office, pdf publications and ordering information, press releases, and information on events and initiatives for the Attorney General’s Office.

Suffolk County District Attorneys Office
The official website for the county’s chief DA. Press releases, speeches, and resource and program information about the county’s district courts.

Boston Ten-Point Coalition -- Operation 2006 -- Boston, MA
A program to change attitudes about guns and violence founded in Boston that now also works nationally.

The Ella J. Baker House
A non-profit, community-based direct service organization dedicated to helping at-risk youth. Website includes html and pdf articles, news links, and volunteer information about the Baker House.

Massachusetts Department of Correction  Provides FAQs and most-requested statistics as well as information on its various divisions.

FedStats
The gateway to statistics from over 100 US Federal agencies.

Guidestar
The national database of non-profit organizations, providing information about the operations and finances of NPOs.