Good news on major crime in Boston gets an asterisk

For the third year in a row, major crime in Boston decreased, according to statistics from the Boston Police Department.

Major crimes (attacks, robberies, break-ins and auto theft, basically) decreased 8.4% across the city in 2008. Murders in Area B (Roxbury and part of Dorchester) dropped dramatically, from 43 to 22, while car thefts and attempted car thefts were down 30% across the city.

However, murders doubled in Area C (the rest of Dorchester and South Boston), increasing from 11 to 22. And the number of people who got shot in Boston remained about the same - 323 people suffered gunshot wounds last year, compared to 325 in 2007. Also, the number of robberies and attempted robberies increased 7% citywide (although it dropped slightly in Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and West Roxbury).

2007 vs. 2006 numbers | 2006 vs. 2005 numbers