Beacon Hill experienced an approximately 6-percent reduction in violent and property crimes in 2012 from the previous year, faring slightly better than the city as a whole, which saw a 5-percent drop during the same timeframe.
“We saw a good decrease in crime on Beacon Hill, although there were a couple of violent incidents, including a sexual assault, which raise concerns,” Captain Tom Lee of Area A-1 said. “We increased patrols following the assault and hope to keep an increased presence on the Hill because of a couple of street robberies in the month of December.”
Boston Police recorded 256 Part Ones crime in the neighborhood last year, compared with 273 in 2011. But despite this overall decrease, 2012 brought a spike in robberies and attempted robberies as the number rose to 16 from 13 the previous year, as well as a high-profile home invasion and sexual assault at Joy and Myrtle streets on Nov. 10 that eventually resulted in the arrest of a 45-year-old convicted rapist.
The rate of domestic aggravated assaults remained steady, meanwhile, with two incidents each year, but non-domestic aggravated assaults saw an 83-percent increase as the number climbed to 11 from 6 in 2011.
In contrast, auto theft was down 47-percent as the number dropped to 10 from 19 in 2011.
Commercial burglaries were down 27 percent as the number fell to eight from 11 in 2011, but residential burglaries were up slightly, with 37 in 2012, compared to 36 the previous year.
Although larcenies from motor vehicles saw an 18-percent increase as the number rose to 107 from 96 in 2011, other larcenies were down 30 percent as the total dropped to 62 from 88 the previous year.
“There was a decrease in [other] larcenies as opposed to the rest of downtown, which saw a lot of incidents targeting iPods and laptops,” Lee said.
Lee and Sgt. Tom Lema of Area A-1 will be on hand to discuss crime statistics and address public concerns when the Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) Safety Committee sponsors another police meet-and-greet at 74 Joy St. on Thursday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m.
“From what we’ve seen on Hill, issues aren’t usually related to violent crime, but instead quality-of-life issues, like panhandling and homelessness,” Lee said. “We hope people will come to the meeting and bring these issues to our attention, so we can address them.”