In her bi-weekly column for the Reporter called B-3 BOLO - short for "Be On the Lookout"- Annie Wilcox gives us a unique break-down on the policing tactics on the district that covers Mattapan and nearly half of Dorchester. There's good news on the crime-fighting front statistically, but Wilcox writes, one of the districts three "beats" needs more attention.-Ed.

District B-3 is comprised of 81 Reporting Areas (RAs) and three Beats: Mattapan, Morton/Talbot, and Washington/Talbot.

On each tour of duty (day, first half, last half) there is a patrol supervisor, who holds the rank of sergeant and he is responsible for the actions of the officers and the service rendered to the community by the officers assigned to his beat. The patrol supervisor responds to every incident on his beat to provide officers with guidance and support as well as devises methods and responses to improve the quality of police service to the community.

If there is a reduction in the crime rate on a beat, the sergeants assigned to that beat get kudos from the captain. We all like it when the captain is happy because that means that we are going to have a good day.

The patrol supervisors in the Mattapan Beat are doing a great job. Crime is down and the captain is happy. Mattapan residents have become very proactive. They are getting to know their neighbors; they are attending more community meetings; they are interacting more with the district police station. And as a result Part I crime in Mattapan is down 29 percent year to year. Homicides are down 100 percent; robberies are down 26 percent; residential burglaries are down 56 percent; and commercial burglaries down 78 percent; however, there is an increase in vehicle theft.

Although the reduction of crime in the Washington/Talbot Beat has not been as pronounced as the Mattapan Beat, homicides are down 100 percent; robberies are down 9 percent, residential and commercial burglaries are down 25 percent; vehicle theft is down 17 percent; but aggravated assaults are up 11 percent.

Special attention must be given to the Morton/Talbot Beat. There has been an increase in homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults and larceny. District B-3 has had three homicides in 2009, all committed in the Morton/Talbot Beat.

June 24, 11:12 a.m.

Officers responded to a location on Fuller Street for an 18-year-old female being beaten by her 24-year-old boyfriend. Neighbors informed officers that the couple moved into the apartment a month ago. Since that time they can hear the female begging, “Please don’t hit me” before she scream in agony from his brutal attacks.

When the officers knocked on the apartment door, the victim opened the door holding her two-year-old daughter and she was covered with blood. During a protective sweep of the apartment, officers discovered a loaded semi-automatic firearm in the bedroom and marijuana on the kitchen table.

Initially, the victim refused to provide officers with a description of the suspect, but had a change of heart and gave a limited description. With the description that the victim gave, officers were able to locate the suspect on Morton Street. He was apprehended after a brief struggle. During the booking process, officers asked the suspect if he had a license to carry? He replied, “Oh, you found my hammer. Come on now, you know I don’t have… you found my hammer.”

June 24, 11:46 a.m.

Victim told District B-3 detectives that four males wearing masks robbed him last December 22 on Milton Avenue. During the robbery, the suspect made off with $14,000 worth of jewelry. While at a pawnshop on Washington Street in Roxbury, the victim noticed his Bentley diamond pendant, valued at $7,000, on display.

The detectives responded to the pawnshop on Washington Street and spoke with the owner who stated that on March 13, 2009, he purchased the pendant from a man, bearing a State of Georgia Identification Card. The suspect has been identified and he will be charged with receiving stolen property. The pendant was returned to the victim.

June 28: 11:13 a.m.

Officers responded to a location on Norfolk Street for an Assault & Battery D/W. Upon officers arrival, they observed a male in the street yelling, “That crack head stole my three hundred dollars and then kicked me out of the house.” There were so many scratches on the male’s face and on his neck that it looked like a tiger had clawed him. After a brief conversation with this male, the officers located the female to get her side of the story, which was quite different from the male’s version.

The female had swollen lips, a bloody mouth, scratches on her face, right hand, cuts on her feet, and blood on the left side of her head. The female further stated that the male drunk was her boyfriend. He asked her for money and when she told him that she had only five dollars he picked up a beer bottle and hit her on the left side of the head.

June 29: 3:11 a.m.

Officers responded to a radio call on Elmont Street. Upon their arrival, they observed the EMS walking a female to the ambulance. When the officers first noticed the female, it appeared that she had a bad weave job. As they got closer to her, it was revealed that entire sections of hair were missing from her scalp.

When the officers asked the victim who pulled her hair out, she became confused as to which boyfriend had harmed her. As the officer attempted to arrest the ex-boyfriend, who was on the scene, he stated to officers “You cannot arrest me because I left my 18-month-old baby home alone.” When the officers informed the alleged suspect about the seriousness of leaving a child home alone and the consequences, he recanted his statement and said that his new girlfriend was babysitting his daughter. Then he decided to accuse the new girlfriend of scalping his old girlfriend. He was arrested because every story he told turned out to be a big fat lie.

June 30, 10:34 p.m.

While on directed patrol in the area of Arbutus Street and Irma Street, officers from the Youth Violence Strike Force observed known gang members standing in a yard on Irma Street. The officers stopped to engage the group in conversation. While the officers were speaking with the group, the patrol supervisor discovered a rifle in a trash barrel, with obliterated serial numbers, loaded with eleven .22 caliber rounds.

July 1, 2:00 p.m.

District B-3 detectives responded to the Waltham Police Department to retrieve a Remington, .38 special handgun which was allegedly found in Almont Park 15 years ago. It was later revealed that the gun was reported stolen out of Newton on June 29, 1993.

Annie Wilcox is a civilian employee of the Boston Police Department who works in the Area B-3 Community Service Office. Her column appears every other week in the Dorchester Reporter and the Mattapan Reporter.