Public Safety

Brockton has one of the lowest police force presence in Massachusetts. The average in Massachusetts is 2.7 police officers per 1000 residents. Brockton has 1.87 per 1000 residents. What we don't know is why we haven't done anything about it. The solution is simple we need more police on our streets. This year as of 8/28/11 Brockton has had 8 murders and this is unacceptable to me. In January of 2009 the city was horrified at 4 murders in less than a month, action had to be taken immediately and I will not say to the Chief of police "do whatever it takes" without giving any resources or more manpower for him to rely on. We can work with the DA's office and the State Police but the reality is unless Brockton as a city takes it upon ourselves to protect our citizens and add more police than as a leader I am just blowing hot air into the wind and the perception still stays the same, come to Brockton because we don't have enough police. We can easily say we will increase the budget and that will be it but where do we get the money in this economy. We first start at looking at the waste in our budget and start to appropriate those funds to the police. We need to make public safety number one. Many criminals come to Brockton because they know we are an easy target. They come because they know they can get away with it. Brockton Police do an incredible job with what they have and we need to support them and provide them with the tools to protect the residents as well as themselves. We need to increase the force and that is my number one priority. We can find the money and when the city did a $100,000 audit that was much needed we need to look further and say, if we had competent people running those departments then would an audit be necessary. We need to cut wastes and put it into the hands of people that will help change Brockton for the better. Thugs can no longer run the streets acting like they own our city and when we confront them with a modern police force and the manpower, then Brockton can attract new people and keep the ones that are moving away. In October 2010 the Brockton Post reported that the Brockton Fire Department had 36 vacancies and that they were able to hire nine new firefighters due to savings from city employee's who have retired. We are still short staffed by 27 firefighters and having to rely on retirements to fill vacancies is something that we have to look at as a short term solution and not a permanent one. We must find the money to bring staffing levels up in the Brockton Fire Department by not waiting until people retire. Also reported was the higher of 5 new police officers in 2010 and that is something that we have to look at very closely and see if these were due to retirement and filling those vacancies or an actual overall increase in police.

Crime in Brockton by Year Type:  2006          2007         2009

Murders                                           8                11             9

Rape                                               42              42             53

Robberies                                      266             199          262

Assaults                                         N/A            N/A         901

Burglaries                                    673            695       772       

Thefts                                           2163          2163       2042

Auto Thefts                                   662            463            393

Arson                                              22             22               42

* Source City-Data http://www.city-data.com/city/Brockton-Massachusetts.html

Question: Which Brockton, MASSACHUSETTS U.S. city had the highest crime rate in 2009?

Answer: According to the most recent Brockton, MASSACHUSETTS FBI Crime Statistics data, Brockton, Massachusetts had the highest crime rate in 2009 at 4.56%. TAKEN FROM THE FBI CRIME STATISTICS FOR 2009 http://city-crime-statistics.findthedata.org/app-question/directory/d/MASSACHUSETTS/Brockton/1100/Which-Brockton%2C-MASSACHUSETTS--U.S.-city-had-the-highest-crime-rate-in-2009%3F MASSACHUSETTS Full-time Law Enforcement Employees by State by City, 2009 City Population Total law enforcement employees Total officers Total civilians Abington 16,732 28 26 2 Acton 21,104 43 35 8 Acushnet 10,606 18 16 2 Adams 8,232 20 15 5 Amesbury 16,623 37 31 6 Amherst 36,845 48 45 3 Andover 33,853 70 51 19 Aquinnah 358 4 4 0 Arlington 41,598 69 54 15 Ashburnham 6,054 14 9 5 Ashby 2,999 5 5 0 Ashland 16,164 31 26 5 Athol 11,724 23 18 5 Attleboro 43,772 91 78 13 Auburn 16,420 44 36 8 Avon 4,354 20 15 5 Ayer 7,488 22 17 5 Barnstable 48,042 123 107 16 Barre 5,496 11 7 4 Becket 1,822 2 2 0 Bedford 13,411 37 29 8 Belchertown 14,383 24 19 5 Bellingham 16,235 34 27 7 Belmont 23,597 60 46 14 Berkley 6,601 6 6 0 Berlin 2,760 11 7 4 Bernardston 2,258 3 3 0 Beverly 39,919 76 68 8 Billerica 43,058 75 64 11 Blackstone 9,126 19 16 3 Bolton 4,556 15 10 5 Boston 624,222 2,760 2,177 583 Bourne 19,133 44 37 7 Boxborough 5,200 11 10 1 Boxford 8,187 14 13 1 Boylston 4,330 13 10 3 Braintree 35,047 80 73 7 Brewster 10,054 26 20 6 Bridgewater 25,765 27 26 1 Brockton 96,471 200 180 20 Brookfield 3,049 5 4 1 Brookline 55,400 164 129 35 Buckland 2,011 2 2 0 Burlington 25,695 72 64 8 Cambridge 102,866 303 272 31 Canton 22,407 43 42 1 Carlisle 4,973 14 10 4 Carver 11,691 22 16 6 Charlton 12,835 23 20 3 Chatham 6,765 27 21 6 Chelmsford 34,695 63 49 14 Chelsea 39,883 99 93 6 Chicopee 54,589 133 129 4 Chilmark 986 4 4 0 Clinton 14,206 31 26 5 Cohasset 7,286 22 16 6 Concord 17,804 45 35 10 Dalton 6,616 12 11 1 Danvers 27,289 58 46 12 Dartmouth 34,879 79 65 14 Dedham 24,605 63 60 3 Deerfield 4,780 9 8 1 Dennis 15,475 50 41 9 Dighton 6,905 11 10 1 Douglas 8,093 20 15 5 Dover 5,724 18 16 2 Dracut 30,048 42 37 5 Dudley 11,264 15 11 4 Dunstable 3,399 7 7 0 Duxbury 14,588 33 26 7 East Bridgewater 14,108 23 21 2 East Brookfield 2,080 4 4 0 Eastham 5,464 23 14 9 Easthampton 16,401 33 25 8 East Longmeadow 15,595 25 24 1 Easton 23,337 33 32 1 Edgartown 3,968 16 15 1 Egremont 1,365 2 2 0 Erving 1,563 3 3 0 Essex 3,369 8 7 1 Everett 37,724 103 94 9 Fairhaven 16,318 35 28 7 Fall River 91,901 258 204 54 Falmouth 33,451 68 62 6 Fitchburg 40,678 83 76 7 Foxborough 16,562 36 28 8 Framingham 65,478 130 119 11 Franklin 32,114 56 45 11 Freetown 9,103 16 16 0 Georgetown 8,342 13 11 2 Gill 1,396 2 2 0 Gloucester 30,675 60 56 4 Goshen 980 1 1 0 Grafton 18,005 23 18 5 Granby 6,432 12 10 2 Great Barrington 7,431 15 14 1 Greenfield 17,840 38 34 4 Groton 10,936 21 15 6 Groveland 7,127 11 8 3 Hadley 4,884 15 11 4 Halifax 7,788 10 10 0 Hamilton 8,270 13 12 1 Hampden 5,401 15 10 5 Hanover 14,185 32 28 4 Hanson 10,096 25 21 4 Hardwick 2,673 3 3 0 Harvard 6,046 13 9 4 Harwich 12,436 35 33 2 Haverhill 60,738 100 90 10 Hingham 22,919 57 45 12 Hinsdale 1,966 2 2 0 Holbrook 10,817 21 20 1 Holden 16,819 27 24 3 Holland 2,586 1 1 0 Holliston 14,160 25 24 1 Holyoke 40,322 137 118 19 Hopedale 6,241 13 12 1 Hopkinton 14,633 26 21 5 Hubbardston 4,565 7 6 1 Hudson 20,060 37 31 6 Hull 11,159 30 24 6 Ipswich 13,435 32 25 7 Kingston 12,511 31 22 9 Lakeville 10,769 14 12 2 Lancaster 7,183 12 11 1 Lanesboro 2,910 7 7 0 Lawrence 70,670 173 146 27 Leicester 11,124 23 18 5 Lenox 5,160 10 10 0 Leominster 41,401 88 70 18 Leverett 1,772 2 2 0 Lexington 30,771 61 47 14 Lincoln 8,103 14 13 1 Littleton 8,906 20 14 6 Lowell 111,772 293 229 64 Ludlow 22,870 38 33 5 Lunenburg 10,087 13 13 0 Lynn 91,149 191 173 18 Lynnfield 11,500 22 17 5 Malden 56,455 113 104 9 Manchester-by-the-Sea 5,333 19 14 5 Mansfield 23,347 45 34 11 Marblehead 20,240 40 31 9 Marion 5,271 14 14 0 Marlborough 38,821 78 66 12 Marshfield 24,811 45 42 3 Mashpee 14,481 46 34 12 Maynard 10,295 24 21 3 Medfield 12,457 19 16 3 Medford 56,380 110 106 4 Medway 12,987 24 19 5 Melrose 27,134 44 44 0 Mendon 5,866 19 13 6 Methuen 44,527 98 85 13 Middleboro 21,585 43 39 4 Middleton 9,662 14 13 1 Milford 27,526 54 45 9 Millbury 13,652 24 19 5 Millis 8,055 18 15 3 Millville 2,878 5 5 0 Milton 26,719 63 51 12 Monson 8,974 16 10 6 Montague 8,407 20 15 5 Monterey 973 1 1 0 Nahant 3,548 13 12 1 Nantucket 11,380 41 37 4 Natick 32,418 64 52 12 Needham 28,683 56 46 10 New Bedford 92,621 304 261 43 New Braintree 1,144 1 1 0 Newbury 7,035 15 13 2 Newburyport 17,343 36 33 3 Newton 84,427 180 138 42 Norfolk 10,837 19 17 2 North Adams 13,927 31 26 5 Northampton 28,921 66 61 5 North Andover 28,116 53 40 13 North Attleboro 28,346 57 44 13 Northborough 14,792 27 20 7 Northbridge 14,634 22 17 5 North Brookfield 4,870 5 5 0 Northfield 3,022 2 2 0 Norton 19,610 27 26 1 Norwell 10,418 31 22 9 Norwood 28,569 71 60 11 Oakham 1,950 3 3 0 Orange 7,915 13 12 1 Orleans 6,337 27 21 6 Oxford 13,773 25 20 5 Palmer 13,086 26 20 6 Paxton 4,580 11 7 4 Peabody 52,483 110 94 16 Pembroke 18,967 30 28 2 Pepperell 11,608 17 16 1 Petersham 1,306 2 2 0 Phillipston 1,821 3 2 1 Pittsfield 43,050 102 85 17 Plainville 8,522 19 14 5 Plymouth 56,084 116 100 16 Plympton 2,812 7 7 0 Princeton 3,536 8 5 3 Provincetown 3,398 25 17 8 Quincy 96,580 219 187 32 Randolph 30,549 59 59 0 Raynham 14,068 34 25 9 Reading 23,398 51 39 12 Rehoboth 11,795 27 22 5 Revere 58,290 95 87 8 Rochester 5,346 10 10 0 Rockland 17,941 36 29 7 Rockport 7,709 17 15 2 Rowley 5,953 17 13 4 Rutland 8,109 9 8 1 Salem 42,041 85 81 4 Salisbury 8,715 20 15 5 Sandwich 20,349 34 33 1 Saugus 27,663 69 53 16 Scituate 18,032 31 27 4 Seekonk 13,781 34 32 2 Sharon 17,256 32 28 4 Shelburne 2,056 2 2 0 Sherborn 4,281 14 14 0 Shirley 7,853 14 9 5 Shrewsbury 33,957 55 42 13 Somerset 18,495 40 35 5 Somerville 75,112 153 128 25 Southampton 6,160 8 8 0 Southborough 9,640 19 15 4 Southbridge 17,012 36 33 3 South Hadley 17,267 31 26 5 Southwick 9,651 21 16 5 Spencer 12,131 21 17 4 Springfield 153,533 539 450 89 Sterling 8,009 17 13 4 Stockbridge 2,251 6 6 0 Stoughton 27,355 54 48 6 Stow 6,473 16 11 5 Sturbridge 9,335 23 18 5 Sudbury 17,445 32 27 5 Sunderland 3,754 5 5 0 Sutton 9,175 20 15 5 Swampscott 14,111 33 32 1 Swansea 16,479 37 31 6 Taunton 56,446 111 106 5 Templeton 7,970 15 10 5 Tewksbury 30,133 65 51 14 Tisbury 3,841 13 12 1 Topsfield 6,130 14 10 4 Townsend 9,534 16 14 2 Truro 2,149 17 12 5 Tyngsboro 12,133 28 22 6 Uxbridge 12,916 22 17 5 Wakefield 25,057 41 40 1 Walpole 23,483 40 36 4 Waltham 61,357 176 147 29 Ware 10,165 17 17 0 Wareham 21,432 55 47 8 Warren 5,146 10 6 4 Watertown 32,944 68 64 4 Wayland 13,195 30 22 8 Webster 16,861 35 30 5 Wellesley 27,407 54 40 14 Wellfleet 2,758 18 13 5 Wenham 4,665 10 9 1 Westborough 18,647 35 29 6 West Boylston 8,364 18 13 5 West Bridgewater 6,739 20 20 0 West Brookfield 3,856 6 6 0 Westfield 41,474 87 75 12 Westford 22,239 50 40 10 Westminster 7,502 18 13 5 West Newbury 4,336 8 7 1 Weston 11,897 29 25 4 Westport 15,445 32 28 4 West Springfield 27,981 88 78 10 West Tisbury 2,668 10 9 1 Westwood 14,219 36 28 8 Weymouth 54,031 102 86 16 Whitman 14,564 27 26 1 Wilbraham 14,311 27 26 1 Williamstown 8,157 16 12 4 Wilmington 22,035 49 47 2 Winchendon 10,268 15 14 1 Winchester 21,486 46 38 8 Winthrop 21,071 31 29 2 Woburn 37,555 80 74 6 Worcester 178,474 472 423 49 Wrentham 11,360 17 15 2 Yarmouth 24,010 58 50 8 FROM FBI WEBSITE http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_78_ma.html