By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Taking a closer look at notable city data—and interesting numbers. 

30-year crime rate low, and then some:  In 2014, the city reached an important public safety marker: a 30-year low in recorded criminal incidents. But the crime rate has since fallen even farther. So far this year, Somerville’s crime rate is 2.5 percent below 2014. Nearly every crime category—including robbery, assault, burglary, motor vehicle larceny, and theft—is at a four-year low so far for 2017. Given historical crime trends in Massachusetts, we estimate that 2017 could yield the city’s lowest crime rate since the 1960s. Many factors play into to this change, but they most certainly include outstanding police work. The Somerville Police Department has pursued many programs and initiatives to help drive this decrease in crime including officer Crisis Intervention Training, de-escalation training, and an impressive increase in community engagement, which we’ll take a closer look at below.

1,156 percent more community-building SPD contacts: While crime has decreased, overall police activity as increased. External calls for services, traffic enforcement, and proactive enforcement categories each saw an increase in activity ranging from 1 percent to 8 percent from 2012 to 2016. However, the proactive engagement category, which encompasses activity aimed at establishing and maintaining citizen and business contacts and conducting community programs, saw a whopping 1,156 percent increase in activity from 2012 to 2016. Chief David Fallon has often made clear that the police can’t prevent and solve crime alone—they need community support. Those seemingly simple daily check-ins with residents and business owners build the trust and communication that helps our PD prevent crimes before they happen and stop potential crime waves before they even become a ripple.

667 school visits: A part of the remarkable increase in the SPD’s efforts around community engagement can be credited to the STEPS (Students and Teachers Engaging Public Safety) initiative. Designed to ensure Somerville youth’s early interactions with police officers are positive in nature, the STEPS initiative began at the start of the 2015-2016 school year. Each year, five Somerville Police officers volunteer for mentor roles beginning with sixth graders across the district’s public schools and commit to following that group of students each year until their high school graduation. After seven years we will have 35 officers (25 percent of all sworn personnel) directly engaged with students.

During the 2016-2017 school year, the 10 STEPS volunteer officers and 7 Neighborhood Police Officers made a total of 667 school visits, with an average of 45 minutes per visit. The soon-to-begin 2017-2018 school year will feature 15 STEPS officers mentoring the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades classes at five district schools.

18 graduates: What began as an idea from one of our Somerville Police officers ended with 18 proud graduates of the first ever Somerville Junior Police Academy. Over the span of a week, 7 Somerville Police officers along with 10 staff members from the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, trained middle school students in the areas of physical fitness and first aid. Additionally, the Academy focused on the importance of integrity and teamwork and provided attendees with an opportunity to take a field trip to the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Boston. The Junior Police Academy was such a success that the Somerville Police Department is planning to bring it back in 2018 and hopes to see 30 new trainees graduate from the program.

Data-based decision making is at the core of how the City of Somerville develops policy and sets priorities. Every day we check the latest 311 stats, and throughout the week we meet for in-depth review of departmental data and city trends. The monthly Data Download column shares some of the data we’ve been reviewing recently, as well as interesting updates. To see more Somerville Data, visit the online Somerville Data Farm at http://www.somervillema.gov/datafarm/.