Larcenies, Car Theft Up, Most Other Crime Down: Brookline Police

BROOKLINE, MA — There hasn't been a murder in Brookline for a decade and most crime in town is down compared to previous years, but larcenies and car thefts are up from last year, according to data just released by the Brookline Police Department.

Larcenies were up 11 percent from 476 to 527 and the number of car thefts were up from 7 to 10. Total property crimes (burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft) are up 9 percent with 597 this year compared with 547 last year.

Still, the incidents of crime reported over the entire year was down 67 percent from where it was in 1994 and is the second lowest year in that time. And total violent crime (murder, rape, robbery and assault) are down 7 percent - from 153 in 2016 to 142.

Police attributed the increase in larceny and car thefts for 2017 to crimes of opportunity – such as thefts of packages in unlocked foyers, thefts from unlocked motor vehicles and bikes.

"These thefts are often perpetrated by addicts in need of money to support their habit. Brookline is not immune to the opioid crisis we are seeing across America. In 2017, there were 26 reports of overdoses in Brookline, 17 of which indicated opiate usage," according to the report.

And speaking of drug usage, Narcan was administered 14 times and there were three-opioid related deaths in town.

As far as other crime: In 2017, rapes were down from six reported in 2016 to four reported last year. Robberies were down from 12 to seven, assaults were down from 135 to 131, burglaries were down from 64 to 60.

Of the 739 Part A crimes reported last year, 123 cases were cleared by arrest, 80 cleared by court action, 43 cleared "exceptionally," 14 closed by completed service, 3 cleared by referral and 1 was closed by other means, resulting in a 36 percent clearance of crimes for the year.

All four rape cases were considered closed, 86 percent of the assault cases, 57 percent of the robberies, 25 percent of burglaries, 24 percent of larcenies were all considered cleared last year. None of the car thefts were cleared.

There are some 739 active cases still under investigation.

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