Posted September 29, 2005

     The South Boston Residents Association met on Tuesday evening at the Tynan Community Center.  The meeting was presided over by Leann Vierbickas.  The prime topic was an update on police actions during the previous two months. 

      The meeting began at 7 p.m.  The first speaker was Brian Dunn from the State Police barracks on Day Boulevard.  He explained the emphasis that he and other officers at the barracks have placed on the intersection of L Street and Day.  Almost all of the tickets he has issued for intersection violations have been to drivers from outside of South Boston.  These drivers apparently have forgotten that the combined red and orange lights signify a pedestrian crossing.  According to Dunn, they are accustomed to the more modern stick figure signal at pedestrian crossings.  He couldn’t estimate when the DCR would get around to updating the lights at L and Day.

     Next on the agenda was Captain Russell from Station C-6.  He began with the good news – overall, incidents in the eight categories of violent and non-violent crime are down.  However, breakings and enterings (B&Es) are up.  By far the largest increase has been commercial B&Es.  They almost doubled, from 60 last year to 116 so far in 2005.  Also, they are drug-related, and most commercial B&Es are taking place late at night.

     Residential B&Es number 191 so far in 2005.  Residential incidents usually occur in the daytime, when homes are unoccupied.  Often a burglar will knock on doors, and will ask for a bogus name if someone is at home.  If there’s no answer to the knock, he’ll then kick the door in and proceed with the burglary.

     Russell strongly emphasized the need for more 9-1-1 calls from residents.  For some reason, they have not kept pace with the rise in B&Es.  Any suspicious occurrence should be reported immediately.  If the response from calling 9-1-1 is not adequate, then call Station C-6 (617-343-4730).  Insist on speaking to the officer in charge of the shift, who can provide answers as well as dispatching a vehicle, if available.

     Regarding the question of what an occupant should do if he comes home to find a B&E in progress, the answer was an emphatic, “Get out any way you can, and call 9-1-1 from an outside phone.”  Due to public record considerations, Russell could offer no comments on the recent violence in Old Colony, except to say it was under investigation.