As the weather warms, high-profile criminal incidents and reports of shots being fired in residential neighborhoods challenge Mayor Michelle Wu’s “safest city in the US” claim. The Boston Police Department’s (BPD) midyear crime statistics show crime rates roughly comparable to this time last year, but up 1% overall.
Violent crime has reduced, with reports of homicide, sexual assault, and robbery below average. Domestic aggravated assault is marginally higher at 453 reports compared to last year’s 447. Non-domestic aggravated assault sees a more than 50-point spike at 753 compared to 692 this time last year, but is still under the five-year average of 773.
Instances of residential and commercial burglary saw a combined near-50-point drop, while larceny and auto theft rose…