In the first quarter of , Boston led major United States cities in year-to-date homicide declines, dropping 82 percent. Extended through June 30, data showed homicide numbers for had fallen by 78 percent compared to the same time in Now, on the cusp of autumn, the downward trend persists. There have been 14 reported homicide incidents to date this year; according to Boston Police Department BPD data , at this time last year, there had been 29 reported.
Just a year after city leaders announced a plan to diminish annual homicides by 20 percent by —32 incidents or less—they are more than making good on the goal. Last year, too, saw the least gun violence recorded in city history. This downswing in violence is not a fluke, but the fruition of years of government cooperation and civilian-led efforts. Despite these strides, however, public safety in Boston is highly stratified by race. According to BPD data, approximately 80 percent of shootings between and were isolated to four neighborhoods, most of which are predominantly non-white—Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, and Roxbury—and about four in five victims were Black.
Speaking with Vera, Dr. Rufus Faulk—who served as senior adviser for community safety to both Mayor Wu and former Mayor Marty Walsh—cautioned against myopic or premature declarations of victory. Yet, as Faulk stresses, keeping perspective is essential, as work remains to ensure all neighborhoods feel equal progress. In the s, cities across the United States experienced a historic spike in violent crime.
Reverend Dr. Gloria White-Hammond , in —spent years working as an emergency room physician. And that became frustrating for me. A public health approach to gun violence acknowledges and seeks to address the contributing factors leading to violent crime, working to root out systemic inequities, prevent harm, support healing, and promote healthy behaviors and communities.
This position has long been shared among medical associations, and U. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy used a similar lens when he recently declared gun violence to be a public health crisis. The Safe and Successful Youth Initiative works with underserved adolescents and young adults referred by public safety agencies to intercept potential system involvement and other harmful outcomes.
