Boston crime thread - all posts go here. (Boston: stations, work)

[massnative71]

Welcome to Wu's Boston.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

https://www.boston.com/news/local-ne...p_featurestack

The T isn't safe. Some of the major incidents over the last 2 months.

Pair of alleged droogs rob sleeping homeless man at Downtown Crossing, and when passerby tries to intercede, they stomp him, police say

South Station T stop runs red with blood; two stabbed after argument turns violent

Man charged with shoving elderly man to the pavement at Quincy Center T stop for no particular reason

Man wanted on charges of beating up lots of people arrested on charges of beating up somebody at Andrew T stop

Orange-vested thief sought for stealing elderly man's wallet, phone at Park Street

Teens charged with beating man into unconsciousness at Andrew T station

Man fatally shot near Fairmount train station in Hyde Park

[msRB311]

I wonder why crime has increased so much at the T. I would think there's way less ridership these days...maybe that has presented an opportunity for increased crime?

I saw this woman was hit by a train over the weekend:

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local...ision/2619711/

Seems kind of suspicious, i wondered if it was a suicide but the articles don't seem to hint at that.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I wonder why crime has increased so much at the T. I would think there's way less ridership these days...maybe that has presented an opportunity for increased crime?

I saw this woman was hit by a train over the weekend:

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local...ision/2619711/

Seems kind of suspicious, i wondered if it was a suicide but the articles don't seem to hint at that.

T ridership is still well below pre-pandemic levels, but a lot of people are riding. I'm on it nearly every day and no matter what time I'm riding, it's never empty enough to really encourage the type of activity in BBMM's posts. The stations are all extremely well monitored both in person and by some incredibly high tech and comprehensive cameras (I took a tour of the operations center a few years back - they have facial recognition, high definition, and every angle covered with staff monitoring 24/7. So if I'm looking for answers, I wouldn't start by looking at ridership numbers.

The lady's death appears to be completely accidental and the result of human error (the track maintenance employee forgot to enable the signal after servicing it) so the gates failed to work when the train was approaching. A tragedy.

[Mayei]

Btw- does anyone here have thoughts on the new DA, Kevin Hayden? He seems great from what I know of him, but I don't know if anyone here has more insight.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Irfox, half the time I’m at smaller subway stations I don’t see any MBTA personnel at all. Rarely do I ever notice a transit police presence.

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by lrfox

The stations are all extremely well monitored both in person and by some incredibly high tech and comprehensive cameras (I took a tour of the operations center a few years back - they have facial recognition, high definition, and every angle covered with staff monitoring 24/7.

The type of people who commit these crimes aren't blessed with an abundance of rational thought. Yes we have cameras everywhere, but does it actually stop crime? You get a nice crisp picture of the criminal, but the crime still happens. He gets arrested, and there's another one to take his place.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Irfox, half the time I’m at smaller subway stations I don’t see any MBTA personnel at all. Rarely do I ever notice a transit police presence.

That's fair. I can't speak for every station, just the ones I frequent which happen to be larger and more central. Park St., the most recent example, is one of them though. But I can see people at the smaller stations (especially at off hours) being pretty easy targets with or without cameras.

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

The type of people who commit these crimes aren't blessed with an abundance of rational thought. Yes we have cameras everywhere, but does it actually stop crime? You get a nice crisp picture of the criminal, but the crime still happens. He gets arrested, and there's another one to take his place.

This is true and it's also part of the reason why I'm not convinced current ridership is a big factor. Park St. is pretty active at 8pm on a Saturday - would a few more have prevented a few irrational teens from doing this?

I have no idea what the answer is to stop crime on the T (though I'm sure more employee presence would help), but I don't think lower ridership is the cause of it.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Irfox, half the time I’m at smaller subway stations I don’t see any MBTA personnel at all. Rarely do I ever notice a transit police presence.

MBTA Police at full staffing levels have about 250 sworn personnel. I understand they are woefully understaffed right now. Given the need to cover three shifts and a huge patrol area, as well as the fact that out of the 250 some are managers and/or special units, how many patrol officers would you expect to see on the platforms of smaller stations? At least they won't be accused of "over policing."

[BostonBornMassMade]

DOWNTOWN: Street robbery, gun shown to vict, Haymarket elevator, sounds a like a T event but BPD detectives handling for now
#906pm

https://twitter.com/StacoS/status/14...531303938?s=20