New programs decrease Boston Common drug use

By KC Cohen

BEACON HILL—Drug arrests on the Boston Common have decreased over the past year due to increased police presence and drug busts.

After a 50 percent spike in drug arrests from 2003 to 2007, crime in the area has dropped 12 percent in 2008, according to a crime report put out by the Boston Police Department in July of this year. The police department estimated 2,037 arrests in District A-1, which contains the Common, in 2007, compared to 1,788 in 2008.

The decrease could be due in part to the 2007 introduction of a curfew restricting overnight use of the Common, said Paula O’Keeffe, chair of the Beacon Hill Civic Association Safety Committee.

“The police are doing a good job,” said George Coorssen, representative for the Midtown Neighborhood Advisory Committee which has been addressing the issue of crime in the Boston Common since the 1970s. “This is the result of everybody taking responsibility and actively pursuing a safe neighborhood policy.”

Beacon Hill residents became more concerned about the area’s amount of crime in August 2007 after a bullet fired from the Common hit the State House, injuring two teens. The event led to the development of the nighttime curfew and an increase in the number of uniformed and undercover officers in the area.

Crack-cocaine use has dropped drastically in the area because A-1 District Police Captain Bernard O’Rourke ordered the removal of park benches that were being used as drug trafficking sites.

“It’s been a long, arduous trip to get to a place where it’s pretty comfortable around here,” Coorssen said. “Bad guys just know they’re not welcome here.”

City Councilor Michael P. Ross is working with the Special Committee on the Boston Common to increase foot traffic in the area, which has been shown to decrease crime. One proposal is to look at a way to bring a restaurant to the Common, which would provide year-round crowds, said Rueben Kantor, chief of staff for Councilor Ross.

Some Boston residents still avoid the area.

“I don’t like to come down here,” said Carol Ann Petruccelli of the Back Bay, who was passing through the Common with her two sons. “I don’t feel safe, especially with the boys.”