Massachusetts continues to rank high among all states in incarceration. In 2007, 1 in 24 Massachusetts adults were incarcerated compared to 1 in 127 in 1982 and Massachusetts ranked 5^th among all US states in the rate of adults in jail, in prison or on probation or parole. By comparison, the national incarceration rate in 2007 was 1 in 31. The dramatic increase in incarceration—driven largely by mandatory minimum sentencing for non-violent drug offenses—has also dramatically increased corrections spending at the expense of spending on education, public safety and early risk screening and intervention.

Crime rates in Boston continue to decline following a up-tick in 2005 and 2006, with much of the credit going to an increased emphasis on community policing, more street workers and reinvigorated and new public/private partnerships.  In 2008,Part 1 violent crime in Boston declined to its lowest level since the late 1960’s.  The decline in overall violent crime occurred across all of Boston’s 11 police districts, ranging from an 8% decline in E-5 (West Roxbury, Roslindale), which typically has among the lowest crime rates, to a 30% decline in student-dense D-14 (Allston, Brighton).  Even traditionally high-crime areas in the South End, Lower Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan experienced 9% to 16% declines in violent crime between 2004 and 2008. Crime rates in Boston’s public housing developments also declined—by 9% between 2007 and 2008 and 11% overall since 2004  (see Indicator 8.2.1). Year-to-date crime figures through October 2009 show this trend continuing, particularly homicides, which declined by 20% in 2009 over 2008. 

A majority of Boston’s crime is concentrated in just a few neighborhoods that are home to most of the city’s families with children.  According to research by Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, 80% of all violent crime occurs in four areas of Boston including South End/Lower Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan.  Over 2007 and 2008, half of reported violent crimes are concentrated in Police Districts that comprise roughly one-third of the city’s population and cover the neighborhoods of Roxbury/Mission Hill (20%), Dorchester (16%), and Mattapan/North Dorchester (14%).

Boston’s teens continue to exhibit high rates of risky behavior at a time of declining resources for in- and out-of-school academic and employment support.  Since 2001, the BPS dropout rate has remained stagnant at around 20% along with a permanent expulsion rate of about 3%. Boston youth show consistently higher unemployment rates than the citywide average, and many unemployed teens lack a high school diploma or GED.   

Rising rates of gang-related youth violence in “hot spots” in the City of Boston and surrounding communities have reinvigorated calls for increased coordination in youth development and violence reduction work across government and social service agencies, community- and faith-based groups, and businesses.  Despite an overall decline in crime, youth gun-related and gang-related violent crime and homicides have been increasing, particularly among Boston’s youth of color:

• Since 2004, youth arrests for violent crime in Boston increased 15%;
• Between 2005 and 2008 one-third of all non-fatal stabbings and shooting victims in Boston were between 15 and 19 years of age;
• More than 70% of Boston’s 2008 homicides were youth-related;
• 75% of 2006 youth homicides in Boston were gang-related compared to 30% in 1999;
• Boston saw an 80% increase in the number of African American homicide offenders between the ages of 14 and 24—the 6^th highest increase in the nation (see Indicator 8.5.1). 

Building on cross-sectoral relationships and initiatives that helped to bring about the “Boston Miracle” of the late 1990’s, City of Boston and its partners have invested in a variety of crime prevention and intervention initiatives. Aimed at decreasing youth crime and homicides (see Indicator 5.6.1 for a full list), they include:

• StreetSafe Boston, a 5-year, $26 million partnership among the City of Boston, The Boston Foundation, BPD, Black Ministerial Alliance, DYS, Harvard University, Boston Medical Center and a host of additional community partners launched in 2008 to target the 1% of youth who perpetrate over 50% of violence in 5 “hot spot” neighborhoods that account for more than 70% of city-wide crime.
• B-SMART (Boston’s Strategic Multi-Agency Response Teams), a program aimed at integrating the efforts of the Boston Police Department, Human Services, and other City departments with those of community partners and faith-based organizations to identify the most pressing needs of each Boston neighborhood.

• Same Cop/Same Neighborhood (SC/SN) is a cornerstone of the delivery of public safety services to every neighborhood in Boston, with officers assigned to a neighborhood and spending no less than 60% of their shift in that area to encourage officers to do more street level problem-solving. Officers develop partnerships—attending community meetings and participating in neighborhood activities and events.
• The Safe Neighborhood Initiative (SNI),a collaborative effort of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Boston Police Department expanded to a fifth location in Dorchester’s Uphams Corner-Dudley Street neighborhood. This community-based program has proven successful nationally in bringing together prosecutors, police, city officials, local businesses and community and religious leaders to resolve public safety problems and remove and prosecute violent offenders
• The Summer Safety Funding Collaborative, or Summer Safety Fund, an unprecedented unified effort of the City of Boston, United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, The Boston Foundation and numerous area philanthropic organizations that provide more than 70 youth-serving out-of-school time organizations with funding to extend hours of operation after school and throughout the summer, reaching 17,000 young people.

Hate crimes in Boston have dropped considerably since 2001, but a slight up-tick since 2006 shows that crimes against African American and white Bostonians are increasing.  Crimes investigated by the BPD Community Disorders Unit have fallen by 37% since 2001, when the city saw a post-9/11 spike in crimes against Muslims and Middle Eastern residents.  Yet proven hate crimes and those strongly indicative of racial/ethnic, gender, sexual orientation or religious bias increased from 169 in 2006 to 212 in 2008—nearly 60% of which were perpetrated against whites (up 60% from 2007) and African Americans (up 15% from 2007).  At the same time, crimes based on religion or sexual orientation have dropped considerably (see Indicator 8.4.3).

Massachusetts’ public safety and social service system faces a “triple-threat”: a growing court-involved population; unsustainable corrections system costs; and, persistent barriers to re-entry for released criminal offenders.   Between 1982 and 2007 the rate of corrections-involved Massachusetts residents increased from 1 in 127 to 1 in 24—the 5^th greatest increase in the nation—with the largest increase in those on probation, according to the Pew Center for the States.  Driven largely by mandatory minimum sentencing for non-violent and drug-related offenses and increased spending on personnel to account for health care, pensions and labor costs, this has put the Massachusetts corrections system—and the Commonwealth’s entire budget—under considerable stress. Recent research by the Criminal Justice Resources Institute  found that between FY98 and FY08, state spending on corrections increased faster than the growth in the prison population as well as spending on education, public health, and social services—all of which can impact crime through early intervention and prevention.

• With roughly 97% of offenders eventually returning to the community—about 16,000 to Boston annually—Massachusetts’ system has yet to fully address the barriers to successful entry that lead to recidivism rates near 40%. 
• With most non-violent drug offenders sentenced to mandatory-minimum terms without parole, CJRI reports that 40% of these inmates return to their communities without any supervision. 

Technology is augmenting ways in which residents in Boston and across the nation receive information about emergencies and crime.  Boston Police now offer a running crime log onBPDNews.com  with access to crime stats, blog posts, safety alerts, and neighborhood resources.  TheMayor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness now offers a host of online options for emergency alerts, family emergency planning and dangerous weather (see Accomplishments & Developments for details).