BOSTON (AP) – Two major police operations targeting violent criminals led to arrests on mostly minor charges, according to a Boston Globe analysis.
From October 2005 until June 2006, about 1,250 people were taken into custody, but only about one-third on felony charges, according to information The Globe obtained through a public records request. At least two-thirds of those arrested faced relatively minor misdemeanor charges, such as trespassing and driving without a license.
About 16 percent of the charges involved violent crimes, such as assault, rape and armed robbery.
Police touted Operation Home Safe and Operation Red Zone as intensive crackdowns on gun violence as violent crime was rising.
About 20 sweeps occurred in the city’s predominantly minority neighborhoods.
During the sweeps, police rounded up people on outstanding warrants and detained people who drew their attention, such as for drinking in public or other minor crimes.
Police Superintendent Robert Dunford, who supervised Operation Home Safe, defended the high number of misdemeanor arrests, saying many arrested on minor charges also were involved in more serious crime. He also said the arrests helped improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents.
Superintendent Paul Joyce, who spearheaded Operation Red Zone, agreed.
“In a lot of cases, a trespassing was just as important as a felony,” he said. “It’s the message that goes with it: We’re here because of the violence and we’re not going to tolerate it.”
In late June, the police department moved away from broad sweeps to a new strategy targeting the most dangerous individual criminals. Officials said serious crime and shootings have since decreased dramatically.
Dunford said the new efforts were more effective.
“Community policing or neighborhood policing as we call it is labor intensive: It takes a lot of cops,” Dunford said. “We’re more focused on how we spend our money, we’re more detailed as we spend our money. … We’re learning from our past experience.”
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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe
AP-ES-11-26-06 1542EST
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