Boston Police returned to their normal deployment on Monday afternoon after several days of requiring two officers per car for patrols in the aftermath of a sniper attack that left five police officers dead and ten more wounded in Dallas last Thursday night.

“I think things have calmed down,” said Boston Police Commissioner William Evans in an interview with the Reporter on Tuesday morning. “We’re always looking out for officers’ safety and it was the prudent thing to do.”

The majority of a 53-member class of newly minted Boston officers from the Police Academy will be deployed to Area C-11, B-3, or B-2. Evans said his plan — as in summers past— is to concentrate more officers in the Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan districts this summer.

The BPD’s top priority continues to be getting guns off the street, he said, adding that he is concerned to see that younger teens are carrying weapons. The commissioner pointed to a 14-year-old boy who was arrested and charged with shooting a woman on Norfolk Street in Mattapan on Monday afternoon. “We had a innocent young woman last night walking by the park on Norfolk Street and she gets shot. We have a 14 year old who shot a gun 11 times. What I’m seeing is a lot of young kids with guns and they’re still babies,” said Evans. “That’s real troubling to me. We’ve all got to step up.”

Protest marches – like one planned for Wednesday night in downtown Boston – are having an impact on his plans. “These marches have been peaceful and we work closely with the organizers,” he said. “But one of the beefs I have is that it’s a real drain. We had to pull all of our pedal bikes out of the neighborhoods to cover a march this weekend and that hinders our summer strategy,” said Evans. “I need them in the neighborhoods.”

Evans said he has been participating in regular “peace walks” through neighborhoods most impacted by shootings. He feels the walks are one reason Bostonians have more confidence and connections with their police department.

“I can say with 100 percent confidence that no other city does half of the things we do,” he said. “I think the peace walks go a long way. It’s nice to be out engaging the public and you see that you’re being appreciated. People know we are trying our best. They know that we’re not working on quotas to lock kids up.”