Springfield sees record number of homicides for 2023 (Boston, Worcester: crime, loan)

[massnative71]

31 people murdered in Springfield during 2023. Why is nobody talking about the fact that the state's 3rd largest city had more people murdered over the past year than at any time in history???




Some perspective, Springfield has approximately 154K people. That leaves it with a homicide rate of 20.12 per 100K. That is almost unheard of for a city in MA.



Boston on the other hand, had 37 homicides last year. Boston's latest population however, was around 650K. That's greater than FOUR times the population of Springfield. That leaves Boston with a homicide rate of 5.69 per 100K.



Now let's take a look at Worcester, the state's second largest city. Worcester had a total of 6 murders last year, and a population significantly larger than Springfield's (approximately 205K). That leaves Worcester with a homicide rate of 2.92 per 100K.



Homicide rates of the state's three largest cities (in summary):


Springfield: 20.12


Boston: 5.69


Worcester: 2.92






I knew Springfield has long been sketchville, but honestly what the heck is going on out there???

[matrix5k]

No one cares about Springfield cause the majority of people on this forum live inside 95.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

No one cares about Springfield cause the majority of people on this forum live inside 95.

I don't really care about Springfield but I do find the topic interesting for generic discussion.

[tovarisch]

I actually commute to Springfield (from Northampton), irregularly. Have for decades. I've never even SEEN a crime. The problems are all drug- and gang-related. Stay out of that scene and it's fine, and there are some great restaurants and beautiful houses.

[aboucher33]

I really don't know why 2023 was so bad. 2022 was a pretty mild year for the city. I believe they had 12 homicides in 2022 so I am not sure why the major spike.

[BOORGONG]

Originally Posted by tovarisch

I actually commute to Springfield (from Northampton), irregularly. Have for decades. I've never even SEEN a crime. The problems are all drug- and gang-related. Stay out of that scene and it's fine, and there are some great restaurants and beautiful houses.

Right, except that in a town that size, the fewer degrees of separation means you will be affected by the situation one way or another. It’s a sad place statistically speaking, but it’s more than a numbers game where gloom sets in…

[msRB311]

I'm guessing it has to do with drugs, anger management, untreated mental illness, not enough to live for. Take a look at who the people are:

https://www.westernmassnews.com/2023...eat-offenders/

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by BOORGONG

Right, except that in a town that size, the fewer degrees of separation means you will be affected by the situation one way or another. It’s a sad place statistically speaking, but it’s more than a numbers game where gloom sets in…

Not really. You can say anything is a numbers game. Statistics have to be put into context otherwise you think illogical fallacies are functional. If you don't do drugs, sell or buy drugs or anything associated with it (prostitution, gambling, loan sharking, etc) it gets to be less of an impact.

Another aspect is frankly crime doesn't mean that the criminals are from there. I grew up on the south shore and there was a prostitute back in the day that would go to brockton..from....Duxbury. Yes where a starter house is what, 700K. Yeah but few reporters said that. Just like suburban kids usually get their drugs and go back home where the media doesn't report things and if they do get caught it's then an arrest in an urban area. Then there's the other issues where deaths of OD's are listed as natural causes (especially with older people) as to not embarrass the family and lower property values.

Look at everything that Gatehouse had
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ateHouse_Media
Go ahead and tell me those sites have the same news quality and investigative journalism they had 20-30 years ago.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Why is nobody talking about the fact that the state's 3rd largest city had more people murdered over the past year than at any time in history???

It was being discussed in October:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/mass...l#post66015168

When I pointed out that 2023 will likely end up with the highest amount of homicides ever in Springfield, I was told:

"The thing you have to remember with crime is it isn't equal."

and

"You cannot generalize crime because you are ignoring the aspects that put people that way."


So, there's that.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by redplum33

It was being discussed in October:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/mass...l#post66015168

When I pointed out that 2023 will likely end up with the highest amount of homicides ever in Springfield, I was told:

"The thing you have to remember with crime is it isn't equal."

and

"You cannot generalize crime because you are ignoring the aspects that put people that way."


So, there's that.

Right. And I'm sure all those criminals/victims are actually from Duxbury.