Police District E-5 Captain Nicole McMullin welcomed West Roxbury residents to an Oct. 13 CompStat (computer statistics) meeting at the station, where police shared local crime data and explained how they respond to, investigate, and track incidents. McMullin stressed that building a collaborative relationship within the district is the most important element.

“As part of our mission of community policing, we need you folks, we need your input, we need that relationship. So, we truly appreciate you guys taking the time to come out here to share your thoughts and experiences with us and give us the opportunity to work with you guys to resolve some of those issues that are happening in the community,” she said, introducing speakers from E-5, the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), and Community Services Office (CSO).

McMullin noted an increase of 35 incidents over all from 2025 through 2026, January through Oct. 8. Most of the increase was in larceny, defined as property theft. Much of this was in shoplifting, not just locally but city-wide. She also noted a 12 percent decrease over the same time in “crowd calls.” These are large gatherings, protests, etc. The Boston Police website provides access to these statistics.

Community Services Officer Sgt. John Downey explained who to call for help and when. He said, for example, if 311 calls come in on a Saturday night, a few days could pass before someone sees them. So a 911 call is better if you need police help as soon as possible.

“So, if it's something immediate that you would like the police out there for, call 911 and they will send someone out eventually. If it's something like a quality-of-life issue or a tip about some type of crime or something suspicious you think is going on, then that's always best to use the Crime Stoppers, the tip line (617-343-4564)”.

The CSO also sponsors group bike rides, with safety tips for crosswalks and hand signals. E-5, along with the YMCA, will sponsor an Oct. 30 Halloween Party at the station from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The party will have a spooky cell walk through, hotdogs, candy, reptiles, a bomb squad demonstration, and face painting. Some recent crime activities resulted in police confiscating 13 unlicensed, unregistered scooters and getting them off the street.

“We know that they are out there and that is a problem, but we're going to continue to work to alleviate those problems.” Lt. Det. Michael Kern said “scooters” are defined more accurately as motorcycles that “have to abide by the same rules as motorcycles – registration, insurance, driving on the road, no driving in the bike lane, no driving on the sidewalk, helmet, and have the proper permits or license for all that.”

Kern said these bikes can be dangerous. “Sitting at a light, scooters are moving in and out here through red lights, and a lot of times they're t-boning cars, and either they take off and don't hang around. Or they just leave it right there because in the event it’s stolen, it's very tough to, you know, to find the ownership of that.” He noted that motorcycles are used in many crimes involving shootings, robberies, and other thefts.

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“So, once they get off on a side road, cutting through fields, whatever, any narrow area, they're gone and there's no catching up with them.” Kern described a recent incident where a driver suspected of seven robberies looped through several Boston police districts. He also difficulty in catching them unless residents assist with videos, report motorcycles stolen quickly, and provide a description and other information to help pinpoint the driver.

Audience questions were varied. One involved phone scams and how the police can help.

“We have some of the flyers that you'll grab here,” said McMullin. “We do talk a lot about scams and things over the phone. It almost seems like as soon as we know what one scam is, it sort of pivots and then we've got a new scam.”

She said to avoid anyone asking for money on the phone. “We want to know what's going on because then when we come to these meetings, we're able to address those things. We would take a report for you. Even if someone calls, if we know the number they're calling from, any information you have on someone who's trying to scam you is probably going to try to scam somebody else.” You can report scams to CSO at 617-343-5500.

Another question was asked about people using their hand-held phone while driving. “We're not arresting folks for distracted driving,” said McMullin. “The people aren't being arrested, but they certainly are being ticketed.”

Another question was about packages stolen from porches. “We have been covering that and focusing one of the flyers (on porch thefts) … just remember holiday season is coming,” said McCullin. “It's just that we want you folks to protect yourselves … but remember to try to have your packages delivered when you're home or to a relative that you know is home.” Contact CSO for more information: 617-343-5500.