By Colin Young

News Staff

There have been fewer crimes around Northeastern’s campus and Mission Hill this year than during the same time period last year, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Boston Police Department (BPD).
The report, which compares the number of crimes from Jan. 1 through Sept. 12, 2010 to the same time period last year, shows there have been 133 fewer crimes in the D-4 district, which includes Northeastern and the Fenway area. In the B-2 district, which includes Mission Hill, there have been 28 fewer crimes.
Homicides have dropped in District D-4, from six in 2009 to just two this year, while Mission Hill’s B-2 district saw no change from last year’s 10 homicides. Both districts, however, saw substantial decreases in the number of rape and attempted rape after a significant spike of 56 last year.
The drop in crime can be attributed to constant patrolling and communication with the police departments at local universities, BPD said.
“We are doing more of the same,” Officer James Kenneally said. “We have a good plan in place and count on increased partnership with area schools.”
Despite the decreases in the numbers of some criminal acts, the D-4 saw an increase in robberies and attempted robberies, from 197 in 2009 to 219 in 2010. The B-2 district saw a substantial increase in the number of burglaries, climbing from 246 in 2009 to 414 in 2010. Robbery typically refers to a crime in which force is used to take something from another person, while burglary typically involves breaking and entering.
The number of aggravated assaults, attacks on a person for the purpose of inflicting injury, in the D-4 district rose from 222 in 2009 to 226 in 2010. Similarly, the B-2 district saw an increase in the number of aggravated assaults, from 499 in 2009 to 536 in 2010.
According to the Northeastern Division of Public Safety (NUPD) Annual Report 2010 – 2011, robbery and burglary are the most common criminal offences that occur on or around campus.
Now, as thousands of college students return to campuses and neighborhoods throughout Boston, BPD officials said they expect to see large increases in the number of calls for loud parties, underage drinking and drinking in public, but not violent crimes such as homicide, rape or burglary.
“We employ directed patrols to address those specific issues that we typically encounter when the kids come back to the city. It only makes sense to see an increase in those  things,” Kenneally said.
In addition to increased patrols, BPD uses increased community visibility and education as means to deter some crimes,  Kenneally said.
“We have officers go out to the area schools and talk to incoming freshman about what it means to be good neighbors, how to protect yourself in the city and how to protect your property,” Kenneally said. “We try to teach them how to be responsible when living in the city.”
Regardless of the crime statistics, some students said they feel equally safe on campus and on Mission Hill.
“I’d definitely say I feel safe up on the hill. It is rare that I don’t see a cop car or something driving around up there,” said middler business major John Valentine, a Mission Hill resident. “I am not surprised at all that crime has gone down because the neighborhood houses so many students it might as well be an extension of campus.”