In what will be the last Boston Police Department’s crime statistics report before the end of the year, the recently released report shows larceny from motor vehicles, or car breaks, in East Boston continue to skew the overall crime stats in the neighborhood.
Part One Crimes, the more serious crimes the Boston Police track, are up 25 percent overall in Eastie when comparing Jan. 1 2020 through Nov. 8 2020 with the same time period last year.
The main culprit continues to be larceny from motor vehicles, which are up 105 percent in the neighborhood.
By this time in 2019 there were only 92 reported car breaks but that number has increased to 189. It seems the number of motor vehicle larcenies, an opportunistic crime that only takes seconds to pull off, is up all over Boston. Citywide the number has gone from 2,332 in 2019 to 2,932 so far in 2020, a 25.7 percent increase.
“The Department obviously takes great pride in the fact that arrests were made in all three incidents, nevertheless, we would like to take this opportunity to remind community members to employ common sense preventative measures to protect items of value when exiting their vehicles,” said the statement. “As simple as it may sound, protecting your motor vehicle from a break-in starts with locking the doors and closing windows. Simple? Yes. And, highly effective.”
In fact, simple steps can often spell the difference between your car being broken into and the would-be thief moving on to another, more desirable target.
“More than anything else, thieves look for the easy score,” said the police. “So, don’t make it easy. If you have items of value, be it a cell phone, charger, money or iPad, take them with you when you exit your car. Because if a thief can see it, you can be sure he or she will do everything they can to steal it.”
As for other Part One Crimes in Eastie there have been zero reported Homicides for 2020; Rape or Attempted Rape is down from nine to five; Robbery or Attempted Robbery is up from 47 to
54; Domestic Aggravated Assault is up from 40 to 47; Non-Domestic Aggravated Assault is up from 46 to 53; Commercial Burglaries are up from 21 to 27; Residential Burglaries are up by one from 46 to 47; other Larcenies are down from 162 to 158; and Auto Theft is up from 38 to 38.
So far this year there have been a total of 628 Part One Crimes, up from the 503 reported during the same time period in 2019.
Again, police are reminding residents that of the 125 additional reported Part One Crimes reported so far in 2020, 97 of those crimes have been traced back to motor vehicle larcenies.
As always, if you observe any unusual activity or observe a car theft or a break-in in progress, don’t hesitate to call 9-1-1.