Downtown safety in Boston remains a big question for workers and residents. A meeting this week aims for answers.

Boston Globe

23-02-2025

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Boston Police Department statistics bear this out: Total crime reached the highest level in at least seven years in the Downtown Crossing/Common area last year, with 995 crimes reported, up from 958 in 2023. Shoplifting was a major factor.
Those stats probably won't surprise Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association members who voted in a poll about safety issues, but they also don't fully capture quality-of-life concerns like discarded syringes and human feces. Of the 320 respondents (mostly downtown residents), 70 percent said they felt less safe downtown in November than they did at the start of 2024, and around 90 percent rated public safety as an urgent issue for the area. Association cofounder Rishi Shukla said he conducted the email poll in advance of a city council
The unusual meeting taking place this week, Shukla said, stems from the concerns raised during that hearing. While Shukla sees recent signs of progress, he still views this upcoming summit as crucial to the neighborhood's future, and hopes the estimated 50 attendees can agree on at least three key points of action.
Sure, many of these issues are not new for downtown, or the Common in particular. But they have become more prevalent since two dispersals,
in
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After crimes in the area rose in 2023, several business groups swung into action, meeting with the BPD and Suffolk district attorney's office. The result: a 'Safe Shopping Initiative' launched last March to spur collaboration among merchants and law enforcement, not just for downtown but
But how effective has it all been?
Not effective enough for Flynn, apparently. The city councilor
gets frustrated when colleagues in city government deny that downtown has a safety problem. He hears otherwise from residents and workers who don't feel comfortable walking
there, especially at night, and regularly fields complaints from businesses, two colleges (Emerson and Suffolk University), a primary school, and a day-care center. He wants zero tolerance for open-air drug dealing, and to allocate more money for police patrols in the area — even though he would prefer that the city's budget writers rein in overall spending growth.
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Leaders at three business groups monitoring the situation — the Downtown Boston Alliance, the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce — seem encouraged by the BPD's and DA's efforts lately. To varying degrees, the business leaders also don't believe the job is done. Michael Nichols at the downtown alliance says he's seen improvements since November. The crime numbers, he noted, could be rising in part because more arrests are being made.
Chamber chief executive Jim Rooney, in a video speech to members
about chamber priorities last week, praised Cox and District Attorney Kevin Hayden for cracking down on shoplifting after business groups pushed the issue; Rooney cited the fact dozens of repeat offenders have been banned from South Bay,
Ryan Kearney at the retailers group also offers kudos to the public safety leaders. Their anti-shoplifting initiative? He says he needs more time before declaring that a success. Problems have persisted downtown, if not increased. He said low-level crimes — or at least the perception that it's unsafe — hurt sales and foot traffic and alarm workers in shops and restaurants.
Kirsten Woodruff is among those who still need convincing. She has lived or worked downtown for more than two decades, and says she has never seen the situation this bad. The Charlestown resident regularly takes the T in on weekdays with her son, walks him to school, and then heads to her job at a law firm on Federal Street. Many days, she feels like she's walking a gauntlet, particularly with the drug-dealing she sees en route.
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Back in December, Wu cautioned that city officials were not taking a victory lap with their press conference. While Cox made note of the sharp uptick in shoplifting, he also declared that this city has never been safer in his entire career. With violent crime on the wane, he concluded, the police now have the opportunity to address 'lesser crime' issues.
For many people in the heart of the city, that can't happen soon enough.
Jon Chesto can be reached at