crime in wayland square

[tiffhiker]

Does anyone have any info on the crime rate in the Wayland Square area? I moved to near the intersection at Elmgrove and Lloyd in November. Since then, there have been three events that worry me a bit. First, the Sovreign Bank was robbed in broad daylight. Then a girl in my apartment building had her car stolen from our driveway (feet from my bedroom window, no less!). Finally, a week ago, someone broke into the basement apartment and stole many of a different neighbor's goods.

Just wondering if this is typical for the area or if I should figure my building's being targeted (just kidding, I hope!). I've lived in DC and St. Louis and have only had to deal with things like cars being broken into and stuff. I thought the neighborhood was much safer than this, especially in light of the fact that I live next to $700,000+ homes! I've walked home from Starbucks at 11pm and walk my dog later than that at times (as I did in DC and STL) and just want to figure out if I've been too naive or something!

Thanks!

[MikeR]

Hmmm...I used to frequent that plaza where Sovereign is that you're talking about. I would grab lunch at the deli at the opposite end. There was no talk about crime in that area then (back in 1999-2002).

It sounds like some like-minded hooligans decided to target that area for some reason. Check with the police dept; they may have some leads, and ask for increased patrols. I think there's someone from the Mayor's office who frequents these boards, so drawing attention to this should do some good. The Wayland Sq. area is one of my favorite parts of the city, so hopefully some arrests can be made soon. Good luck!

[Cotuit]

Garris is our resident Wayland Square resident, I'm sure he'll chime in.

Here's some links to PPD crime reports for the area. Wayland Square is in District 9:

PPD Crime Statistics Page

Annual Crime Call For Service Comparison Report [pdf] 2003-2004

From The Providence Plan:

Violent Crime map {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} There's a smudge at Wayland Square in this map, but at the table on the side you can see that Wayland Square has the second lowest incidence of violent crime after Blackstone.

Selected Crime Comparison Tables [pdf]

Other crime maps

Your District 9 Substation is at 248-250 Brook St. near Brown University. Lt. Paul Campbell is very interested in hearing neighbourhood concerns. You're always welcome to go into the substation to speak to the officers on duty.

Generally, District 9 is rather safe as far as crimes against persons is concerned. However, being among the wealthiest areas of the city, there's a lot more to steal there than in other parts of the city, so it does draw thieves. Proper precautions should be taken. Make sure your residence has good locks, if it doesn't, make your landlord install better locks. Always lock your car, don't leave anything valuable in plain site in an unattended vehicle. Be aware of your surroundings at night. I don't think it's any more dangerous than any other big city, but you need to have your big city street smarts about you.

[tiffhiker]

Voicing concern and asking for increased patrols sound like good ideas, although I do see cops cruising around a fair amount. I'll check into that.

As far as the building goes, ironically the basement tenant asked for bars on the windows in his lease (which the landlord signed) and was laughed at. So...perhaps the landlord will be covering the cost of replacing his items! Hopefully the landlord now will recognize the need; anyone who gets into the basement can obviously get into the rest of the building too.

I'm glad to see that crime is very low for the area, which I had assumed. I had also considered the fact that it is a nicer area to live, which would attract thieves. I guess since the rest of the homes have alarms, they have to hit up the relatively slummier apartment buildings!

Thanks for the info!

[Cotuit]

I have an alarm in my apartment on Federal Hill because we had some issues. I'd recommend renters insurance if you don't have it, and an alarm. It only costs us about $25 a month for the alarm and we get a discount on our renters insurance with it. Our landlord paid for the installation, obviously it will be staying after we leave, and it becomes a selling point for her when it comes time to re-rent the apartment.