Hey, there! Log in / Register

What can one person do about crime?

ConleyEditor's note: In June, Universal Hub readers selected selected five questions for Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley. Here is his answer to one of them:

What can I do personally to help bring down the crime in the Boston area? There has got to be someway of getting involved. Shootings, stabbings, and beatings are filling the pages of the newspapers, blogs, and airwaves. I am beginning to feel like the only sane person in a sea of lunatics.

My advice is simple: get involved and stay involved. Look, good neighborhoods aren't built by government - they're built by good people who look out for one another and who insist on certain standards of behavior for themselves and their neighbors. When I was growing up, my brothers and sisters and I honestly thought our mother was omniscient because whenever we went off into the neighborhood and got into trouble, my mother would ask us - and then tell us - exactly what we did. It turned out all of her friends and neighbors had a rudimentary but highly effective intelligence network in place: when they saw kids doing something wrong or stupid or dangerous, they told on us. It worked great! That same network also meant that my brothers and I helped to shovel out our elderly neighbors' walkways, that we respected grown ups and police officers, and, when we became teenagers, that we kept an eye on the younger kids. These were all small things but they added up to a cohesive neighborhood in which to live and raise a family. Almost every part of town has at least one community group or civic association, and they are great places to start.

If you're looking to go further, there is no shortage of ways to get involved and make a real difference. In my own office, we encourage residents to participate in crime watch groups or to attend community safety meeting. We also invite residents to be a part of Project Strength and Spirit - an undertaking of our own in which we bring people into court to give moral support and a friendly face to those testifying against violent criminals. Sadly, there is often more support for the defendant in a trial than there is for the witnesses who are called to testify against him or her. Those witnesses are at risk for intimidation and even simple isolation, leading too many of them to refuse to testify and allowing the guilty to avoid responsibility. For more information about this and other volunteer opportunities, contact my Director of Community Relations or our Safe Neighborhood Initiative Unit at 617 619-4000.

It should go without saying that there are specific and important things you can do. If you know a crime has been committed, report it. If you know where an illegal gun is being kept, call police immediately. Looking at the bigger picture, though, there are countless opportunities for each of us. There is always room for another teacher, youth counselor, or mentor. Recognize that children will internalize and adopt the behavior they see around them, and remember that time spent with them today will pay huge dividends for them - and us - in the future. Probably the simplest thing you can do, though, is to treat your fellow citizens with kindness and respect. Quiet and persistent humility, acts of goodwill, and simple courtesy toward others - regardless of their social standing - can change a culture for the better. You and I probably can't change the world alone, but in concert with our fellow citizens, we can make Boston a safer, saner place to live, work, and raise a family.

All five questions.

Topics: 
Free tagging: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!