Police target hot spots in crime surge

A new report on Boston's crime surge makes clear that the city is pockmarked with hot spots, including three where there were a total of 22 shootings, five homicides among them, in just six weeks in October and November.

The internal summary of serious crime, given last week to Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole and other top department officials and obtained yesterday by the Globe, says that three of the city's most volatile areas are Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan, Egleston Square in Roxbury-Jamaica Plain, and a large section of Lower Roxbury.

Police Superintendent Robert Dunford said yesterday that the department plans to flood problem areas with officers and to work with community groups.

He cited an operation last month in which police descended on Egleston Square and made a series of gun arrests and seizures and which the report said resulted in no shootings after Oct. 22. The number of seized firearms is up 34 percent this year over last, and the number of firearm-related arrests is up 39 percent.

From Oct. 1 through Nov. 16, police recorded three homicides and three nonfatal shootings in the Egleston Square area near Bragdon Street; two homicides and seven nonfatal shootings in the Blue Hill Avenue and Walk Hill Street area of Mattapan; and seven nonfatal shootings in the Washington Street and Lenox Street area of Lower Roxbury.

So far this year, there have been more shootings in the police district covering Roxbury than any other district, with 13 of the city's 40 firearm homicides and 71 of the city's 262 nonfatal shootings. The district including Mattapan has also been particularly hard hit by gun violence, with nine homicides and 60 nonfatal shootings.

Mable Graham, president of the Mattapan Civic Association, said yesterday that violence in her neighborhood has worsened noticeably.

''It's crazy," said Graham, who said two young men have been shot and killed within a block of her home in the past few months. ''There's just too many guns on the street."

Sheila Grove -- executive director of Washington Gateway Main Street Inc., a community organization that promotes revitalization along Washington Street -- said shootings in the area have unsettled business owners in the gentrifying neighborhood of sushi restaurants and hip diners.

''The Washington Street businesses stick together," she said. ''There's a real community feeling that makes it feel safe, so it's very jarring when these issues happen."

Robert Pulster -- executive director of the Ecumenical Social Action Committee, an Egleston Square community organization -- said he is troubled by the rise in crime.

''There's a lot of guns on the street," he said. ''The mood is some sense of urgency that we need to organize."

Citywide, the report says, shootings are up 31 percent through Nov. 16 this year, compared with the same period last year. Yesterday, a man was shot to death in the South End, the city's 63d homicide of the year. That's three ahead of the pace last year, when Boston recorded more homicides than in all but one year since 1996.

The report, based on preliminary police data, also says that:

The number of rapes, robberies, and assaults is higher through Nov. 16 this year than last, but there have been fewer larcenies and vehicle thefts.

While the number of burglaries is about the same as last year, there are persistent hot spots for residential break-ins in the Chester Street, Fens, and Mount Hood areas.

Between Aug. 1 and Nov. 15, there were robbery hot spots in the Back Bay along Boylston Street, in Fields Corner, the South End, the Theater District, and in the Ashmont-Washington Street area.

The report says Operation Crosstown in Egleston Square focused on criminals who cross district lines between Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. During the three-week operation, about 30 people were arrested, including at least three on gun charges.

Dunford said yesterday that similar operations targeting criminals crossing district lines have been run along the Mattapan-Hyde Park border in response to a rash of muggings and on the border of Dorchester and Mattapan, where police recently arrested suspects in a string of armed robberies of food delivery workers.

''We're using this more and more as we're getting better with the . . . intelligence," Dunford said.

He attributed the police success to a strategy that combined police presence, a large number of arrests, and better coordination between city agencies improving quality-of-life problems such as lighting.

He said it is too early to say whether digital surveillance cameras will be installed in Egleston Square or any of the other current hot spots, because the cameras require extensive wiring and because police officials want community feedback before they choose locations.

City officials and police said Friday that to help deter crime and catch criminals, they plan to put up about 40 of the sophisticated cameras, most of which were bought and used for last year's Democratic National Convention but have been shelved since then.

Dunford said large numbers of residents want cameras in their neighborhoods, but that many details still need to be worked out.

State Representative Liz Malia, who represents Egleston Square, said cameras are helpful, but can't replace officers on the street or community awareness, which she said Boston lacks compared with its heyday as a community policing model a decade ago.

Suzanne Smalley can be reached at ssmalley@globe.com.