Boston Police Accountability and Transparency Data
The Boston Police Department (BPD) is committed to accountability and transparency regarding police conduct and activity.
This website is intended to provide important information and data regarding police interactions with the community. We're committed to ensuring that the need for transparency in the release of data does not interfere with the privacy interests of those involved.
We will continue to expand and improve as more and better data becomes available. Associated open datasets will appear on Analyze Boston. We welcome the opportunity to share these data with the community, as well as additional resources and information. Please note: Our data may be preliminary and is subject to change.
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Have questions? Contact:
Boston Police Department
Dashboards
DashboardsThe Homicide Investigation Unit investigates all homicides occurring within Boston Police jurisdiction. According to FBI standards, the annual homicide clearance rate is calculated using:
- the total number of new homicides in a calendar year, and
- the total number of homicides that are cleared that calendar year, regardless of the year the homicide occurred.
The reason for this is that homicide investigations can span multiple calendar years. Incidents that happened in previous years can also be ruled a homicide years later and added to the current year’s total.
Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 clearance rate is unusually low. This is because the courts and grand juries were closed during the year. The closures impacted our ability to hold offenders accountable and bring justice to victims’ families.
Rule 323 provides guidance to officers in ensuring that intelligence and information is gathered via stops or observations out in the field only on:
- persons suspected of engaging in criminal activity, or
- persons associating with those suspected of criminal activity.
The rule offers guidance on those stops that implicate an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights. It also clarifies how officers should document interactions with those suspected of criminal activity, or associates of those individuals, in a Field Interaction/Observation/Encounter (“FIOE”) Report. The report provides officers with the mechanism to describe the conditions and circumstances involved in these interactions.
FIOE data are published annually. This is due to the extensive legal review and redaction required to protect the privacy of those who are the subjects of the FIOE. The Boston Police Department (BPD) has previously released numerous reports and has published multiple years of FIOE data. This happened most recently in April 2021:
October 8, 2014:BPD released FIO study by Dr. Anthony Braga and Dr. Jeff Fagan analyzing 2007-2010 data
January 8, 2016:BPD released FIOE data covering January 2011 - April 2015
May 23, 2017:BPD released FIOE data covering June 2015 - December 2016
March 13, 2020:BPD released FIOE data covering January 2017 - December 2018
May 8, 2020:BPD released FIOE data covering January 2019 - December 2019
April 16, 2021:BPD released FIOE data covering January 2020 - December 2020
The shootings dashboard contains information on incidents:
- where a victim was struck by a bullet, either fatally or non-fatally
- that occurred in the City of Boston, and
- that fall under Boston Police Department jurisdiction.
The dashboard does not contain records for self-inflicted gunshot wounds or shootings determined to be justifiable. Information on the incident and the demographics of victims are included.
The information is updated based on analysis conducted by the Boston Regional Intelligence Center. The Center is under the Boston Police Department Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis. The data is for 2015 forward. Please note: There is a seven-day rolling delay to allow for analysis and data entry to occur.
The shots fired dashboard contains information on shooting incidents that:
- did not result in any victim or victims being struck
- occurred in the City of Boston, and
- fall under Boston Police Department jurisdiction.
This information may come into the department through:
- a 9-1-1 call
- a ShotSpotter activation, or
- an officer on-siting an incident.
Shots fired incidents are confirmed when:
- ballistics evidence is recovered, or
- in the absence of ballistics evidence, there is strong witness or officer corroboration.
This information is updated based on analysis conducted by the Boston Regional Intelligence Center. The Center falls under the Boston Police Department Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis. The data is for 2015 forward. There is a seven-day rolling delay to allow for analysis and data entry to occur.
The Boston Police Department (BPD) Firearms Analysis Unit (FAU) receives all firearms that are recovered by, or surrendered to, the Boston Police. The FAU enters the submissions into a database. Statistics found on the firearms recovery dashboard are generated from the FAU database. The automated data feed is updated daily at 3:15 a.m.
Beginning in 2021, firearms we recover that may be related to a previous year’s investigation are counted in the calendar year in which they were recovered.
Firearms submitted to the FAU are categorized using the following definitions:
Crime GunsNumber of firearms involved with a crime recovered by the BPD and submitted to FAU
Guns surrendered / safeguardedNumber of guns surrendered to, or safeguarded by, the BPD and received by the FAU
Example of a surrenderAn person’s license to carry is suspended and they are legally required to surrender the firearm to BPD
Example of a safeguardingA person turns over firearms that belonged to a relative following their death
Buyback Guns recoveredNumber of firearms turned in to the BPD during a buyback program
Through a close partnership with the BEST, Master’s Level mental health clinicians co-respond with BPD officers. This improves our response to mental health-related calls for service. These clinicians can also:
- help with holding cell evaluations
- provide critical follow-up, and
- help with the mental health training of BPD officers.
BEST clinicians work very closely with the BPD’s Street Outreach Unit (SOU). Formed in early 2020, the SOU provides community-based outreach through partnerships and collaboration. In a professional, humane, and supportive manner, they help those affected by:
- mental illness
- substance use disorder, and
- homelessness.
Through their efforts, SOU officers seek to connect people to services before they engage in criminal activity or public disorder. Much of the SOU’s focus is on the “Mass. and Cass” area. They work with:
- the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC)
- Boston Emergency Medical Services
- the Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), and
- other partners on the coordinated City strategy for this area.
BEST operates independently from the BPD. They maintain their own confidential client database. Therefore, the BPD will only present monthly aggregate data as provided by these two partner organizations. The BPD does not have access to any client information per HIPAA and other privacy concerns.
The BEST dashboard includes two metrics for the BEST clinicians:
- Monthly number of incidents to which BEST clinicians co-responded with BPD officers
- Monthly number of proactive engagement and follow-ups conducted by BEST clinicians
The Homicide Unit of the Boston Police Department (BPD), in conjunction with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, investigates deaths that occur while a prisoner is in police custody.
Pursuant to statute (M.G.L. c. 38, § 4), the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is in charge of all death investigations conducted in Suffolk County. They investigate all in-custody deaths in conjunction with BPD. They also make a determination as to whether there is a violation of criminal law. For public records requests related to these cases, please contact the District Attorney’s Office.
This dashboard contains information related to in custody deaths. Due to the infrequency of in-custody deaths, this dashboard will be updated as soon as possible following an incident. If there are no incidents in a year, the dashboard will be updated annually to record a zero for the previous year.
Formed in 1996, YouthConnect is a partnership between the Boston Police Department (BPD) and Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. It places Master’s-level licensed clinical social workers in police stations and specialized units with front-line officers. Currently, the program covers these districts:
- A7 (East Boston)
- B2 (Roxbury)
- B3 (Mattapan)
- C11 (Dorchester)
- D4 (South End), and
- E13 (Jamaica Plain).
There is additional citywide coverage through the Youth Violence Strike Force, School Police Unit, and Domestic Violence Unit.
YouthConnect’s innovative clinical model allows the social workers to immediately intervene with police-referred youth to provide:
- violence prevention
- intervention
- advocacy, and
- mental health services.
These services are offered to youth when they are engaging in — or at risk of engaging in — delinquent activity.
YouthConnect services are community-based. The program meets youth at home, school, in the community, in detention, or through telehealth. The program is family-focused, working with the entire family. It's also not bound by time limits. Clients may be with YouthConnect for a short period of time or for years. They are also confidential, voluntary and free — three key components to their success.
YouthConnect operates independently from the BPD. It maintains its own confidential client database. Therefore, the BPD will only present monthly aggregate data as provided by this partner organization. The BPD does not have access to any client information per HIPAA and other privacy concerns.
The YouthConnect dashboard includes several metrics, including:
- the number of police referrals to YouthConnect per month, and
- the reason for referral.
Please note: A youth could be referred for multiple reasons. This dashboard also includes demographics of clients served by YouthConnect by year. Not all individuals referred to YouthConnect accept services. Others remain clients for over a year and therefore they may be reflected in multiple years' data.
The YouthConnect dashboard includes three buttons at the top. The first shows the number of referrals per month and the reason or reasons for referral. The second displays the same referral information except the reasons are grouped by type of referral. The third displays annual demographic data of clients (those who have been referred and are taking services). Referral data is updated monthly. Demographic data is updated annually.
Please note: The demographic data in the dashboard goes back to 2016. The referral data displays the current year and two previous years. The referral reason chart covers a rolling two-year period. Previous years’ data is available on Analyze Boston.
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Please visit police.boston.gov:
- to submit a public records request
- to submit a complaint or commendation
- for information on reporting tips anonymously through CrimeStoppers, and
- for other pertinent public safety information.
Complaints against BPD Officers can also be filed through the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency (OPAT).
And, in the future, complaints against BPD Officers will also be able to be filed through the Massachusetts Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission.
All Boston Police Department (BPD) rules are posted on police.boston.gov. Of note, please refer to:
See also the Department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy.
Use of Force Rules (303, 303A, 303B, 303C, 303D, and 304) were updated in June 2020 to address 8 Can’t Wait concerns. They were updated again in May 2021.
Community PolicingBPD continues to build on a strong foundation of community policing. We prioritize relationships with community members of all ages as the key to building trust in our neighborhoods. A major component of our community policing model is connecting those in need with services, opportunities, and resources. To that end, we have two signature partnership programs:
- one with the Boston Medical Center’s Boston Emergency Services Team (BEST), and
- the other with YouthConnect.
Who's Involved:
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Have questions? Contact:
Boston Police Department
