After an order from the city’s mayor, Boston police dismantled a homeless encampment that was known as a hub of drug use and criminal activity; however, residents now say crime is spilling out across the rest of the city.
Mayor Michelle Wu enacted a new rule that went into effect on November 1, which ordered police to take down the “Methadone Mile” tent city. Wu argued the encampment was becoming too dangerous to be allowed to continue.
Wu said vagrants living in the encampment would be offered taxpayer-sponsored shelter and supportive services. Still, residents and business owners have said illicit behavior has risen since the homeless tent city was decommissioned.
“I still sometimes come outside with my daughter and find people shooting up on my front stairs or smoking crack, and of course, the defecating all over the place,” South End resident Makeda Payton told WCVB 5.
Dallas has also been wrestling with similar issues, especially in its city center, where drug offenses, motor vehicle thefts, and assaults dwarf the criminal activity logged in Fort Worth’s downtown area. Dallas residents say the City is “on the wrong track” when it comes to crime, homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling, according to polling conducted by The Dallas Express.
Relatedly, the City’s war on crime has been inhibited by an ongoing staffing shortage in the Dallas Police Department. A City analysis recommends Dallas maintain approximately three officers for every 1,000 residents, putting an ideal staffing level at around 4,000 officers. However, the police department currently has fewer than 3,200 sworn officers.
The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association said in August that police responded to more than 5,000 calls near the encampment. Wu was prompted to take action against the homeless tent city because of the spike in crime.
“Methadone Mile” was described as “anarchy” and a “powder keg” ready to explode, said Sue Sullivan, executive director of the Newmarket Business Association (NBA), per Fox News.
“Sex trafficking, drug dealing, just everything you can imagine going on,” Sullivan added. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
The NBA partnered with the City of Boston to pack and store the items from the encampment as city workers cleared the site. More than 100 people living in the encampment reportedly accepted shelter from the municipality.
In San Antonio, the nonprofit Haven for Hope has been credited with a 77% reduction in homelessness through its “one-stop-shop” approach in which housing and supportive services are provided on the same campus. This model has polled favorably among Dallas residents but has yet to be mirrored by the City of Dallas.
