During 2002, District A-1 personnel used a variety of innovative measures to continue to promote the concepts of neighborhood policing throughout Downtown, Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Chinatown, and the North End.

Since September 11th, District A-1's personnel have remained particularly cognizant of the fact that Boston has become a potential target for future acts of terrorism. Together they protect the high volume of people who live, work, and shop in the district's neighborhoods, as well the many sites with historic and symbolic significance along the Freedom Trail, among downtown's large concentration of office buildings, and throughout the area's burgeoning maze of new transportation infrastructure. During 2002, these growing security duties included intricate protective measures for several Liquefied Natural Gas tankers, which made fifty-six heavily escorted journeys through Boston's inner harbor. District A-1 personnel provided an extensive land-based security presence via observation posts in numerous locations along the waterfront, all strategically placed to afford maximum protection during the safe passage of each tanker.

The staff of District A-1 continues to work closely with groups such as the Midtown Park Plaza Neighborhood Association, formed by local residents and businesses to combat Theater District drug-related crime. Together they discuss quality of life issues, crime prevention, and other community-related concerns in a joint attempt to eradicate illegal drug dealing. At the same time, comprehensive anti-crime initiatives such as "Operation Vice Grip" and "Operation Wilbur" have effected numerous drug-dealing and prostitution arrests in the Theater District and nearby Bay Village and Chinatown neighborhoods. Operation Vice Grip was used in conjunction with the ongoing Operation Squeeze to target prostitutes in addition to their would-be customers. Operation Wilbur has also been an ongoing strategy, focusing specifically on drug arrests in the Theater District. In 2002, four hundred and fifty-six drug arrests were made as a result of these combined efforts, due to significant cooperation among the District's patrol officers, its Drug Control Unit, the BPD Citywide Drug Control Unit, and the Youth Violence Strike Force.

District A-1's Drug Control Unit also performed "Operation Cordo-N-Grato" which targeted heroin dealing in the North End. It resulted in twelve additional arrests, along with the execution of two search warrants. Working in cooperation with other investigative units throughout the Department, District A-1's Drug Control Unit further assisted the Massachusetts State Police in a criminal investigation known as "Operation Neighbor Hoods" in the North End. This initiative recovered numerous firearms, included the execution of five search warrants, and resulted in the arrests of several high-level organized crime figures. All tolled, District A-1's warrant arrests increased by 35%, with total drug arrests rising by 77% from last year.

In 2002, District A-1's calls for service increased 10% from 67,245 to 74,432. This increased workload was also complemented by enhanced performance from District personnel, with emergency response times in Charlestown dropping to the lowest in the entire city--just 4 minutes for the most urgent "Priority 1" calls. At the same time, regular meetings of the District A-1 Advisory Committee helped A-1 personnel to work collectively with representatives from neighborhoods throughout the district to improve quality of life and crime issues. In addition to these representatives, district personnel also continued to work closely with members of the Downtown North Association; the Chinatown, Charlestown, and North End Safety Committees; the Bay Village, and Leather District's Neighborhood Associations; and the Lower Washington Street, and Charlestown Youth Task Forces on a regular basis.

- Captain Bernard O'Rourke