Dear Arlington Residents,
A recent report on crime released by the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs (MMCC) was presented to Governor Deval Patrick and the Governor’s Crime Council in September. The presentation discusses trends and crime prevention strategies and requests state aid for law enforcement.
The report compiled crime data from 25 Massachusetts Major Cities (MMCs) with populations over 40,000, including Arlington. The data presented represents a comparative analysis of the first six months of calendar years 2006 and 2007.
You can view the full MMCC Report here.
While the 38% increase in total crime has been widely reported (Arlington, Woburn report rise in crime, Boston Globe, 11/4/07), additional clarification is necessary to provide context to the report. Of the 24 reporting communities (this excludes MBTA), Arlington ranked #24 in both total crimes and total crimes per capita.
The report confirms that Arlington is still a very safe community in which to live.
However, any rise in crime is cause for concern and requires further investigation and analysis. This new reporting mechanism promises to be an important tool in measuring trends in future years, and these first 12 months are a great start.
Arlington Chief of Police, Fred Ryan is evaluating the data and will alter deployment plans and crime control strategies as necessary. He notes that the Arlington Police Department is understaffed (1.4 officers per thousand residents) compared to comparable communities (2 officers per thousand residents) as described in the report his department compiled. In the Northeast Region, the FBI reports 2.4 officers per thousand is the average for a municipality the size of Arlington (25-50K residents). He adds “the men and women of the Arlington Police Department are a highly motivated and truly professional workforce and our position is that while we may be the least resourced in the region we are also the most efficient police department given the overall low crime rate.”
I concur with the Chief that our police force does a great job with the limited resources available. Could it do a better job with more resources and can more resources be justified? Clearly the answer is yes. The fact is, however, resources are stretched thin throughout all departments.
We will continue to gather and analyze data to determine trends and to seek strategies on how best to deploy our resources to keep Arlington a safe and desirable place to live.
Sincerely,
Brian F Sullivan
Brian F. Sullivan
Town Manager
Town of Arlington, Massachusetts
730 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington MA 02476-4908
Phone (781) 316-3010
Fax (78l) 316-3019
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