Crime & Safety

Boston Police To Add Bicycle Patrols In Response To Shootings

Boston Police will add more bike patrol officers in an effort to protect children, focusing on places where kids hang out, like playgrounds.

BOSTON, MA — Boston Police will add more bike patrol officers in an effort to protect children, focusing on places where kids hang out, like playgrounds. The move comes after a July 4th shooting in Dorchester, according to Police Commissioner William Evans.

The announcement came at a community meeting on Wednesday, Evans said the department assigned 30 bike units to patrol parks and playgrounds in an effort to protect children, the Boston Globe reported.

Overall, shootings with victims are actually down by 32 from January 1 to July 8, compared with shooting crime during the same time last year, according to Boston Police data. The number of fatal shootings have increased by six, to 24.

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In the past week there have been about five more shootings, according to police data.

More to come

Find out what's happening in Bostonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Alleged Boston July 4 Shooter Caught On Video

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