Ty Bellitti grew up in Newtown Court, a housing project in The Port, and has mostly fond memories of it. But he also understands why community residents got so angry at city officials for calling Cambridge a “safe city” at a meeting last month.
“I personally had a very beautiful upbringing, but it wasn’t without danger, it wasn’t without fear,” Bellitti said. He is co-founder of My Brother’s Keeper, a nonprofit that works to address opportunity gaps for boys and young men of color. He said The Port has always faced problems with violence, including gun violence.
Residents at a July 8 community meeting lambasted city officials for claims that Cambridge was safe, which many felt didn’t capture the experiences of Black and brown people. The Port has the highest population of Black residents out of all the neighborhoods within Cambridge, according to a 2023 neighborhood statistics profile done by the city, which placed its Black population at almost 30%.
The Port does have high rates of crime relative to other Cambridge neighborhoods, but not the highest in categories such as aggravated assault, where Cambridgeport has had more instances in the last several years, or simple assault, where The Port has been as low as fifth among city neighborhoods.
And Cambridge, like the U.S. as a whole, has seen steep declines in violent crime since the early 1990s.
So by some measures, city officials aren’t wrong to call Cambridge safe. In the 15-year period between 2010 and 2024, Cambridge saw 21 murders, 12 of which involved gunshots. Six of those murders happened in The Port, more than any other city neighborhood, and four of them involved guns. Overall, that’s 1.4 murders a year, significantly below the U.S average of about 4 per 100,000 people per year and below Canada’s rate, which is just under 2 per 100,000 people per year. In contrast, between 1990 and 2009, there were 40 people murdered in Cambridge.
The Cambridge Police Department sent a statement to Cambridge Day that there is no single driving force between gun violence within the community. They attributed factors to anything ranging from interpersonal conflict to “broader social and economic challenges.”
“Like many communities experiencing gun violence, the factors are complex and interconnected,” said Jennie Lopez, the CPD communications director.
For all violent crime, Cambridge has also seen totals slightly lower than the state average. In 2024 and 2023, violent crime totaled 464 and 488 respectively. While the average for 2023 was 465. Cambridgeport has had more instances of aggravated assault in the last several years
A history of feeling neglected
But data doesn’t change a resounding feeling of neglect within the community.
Tony Clark, who grew up in Central Square, said when he was living within the community in the 80s and the 90s there was a sentiment that despite the community’s proximity to City Hall they had less of a voice in decisions. “The Port has always felt like the stepchild,” Clark said.
Jalen Bernard, a public works department employee and former resident of The Port, said he observed that when city councillors visit these communities, what’s said is not carried back to City Hall.
“These types of communities are not spoken for,” Bernard said.
That same sentiment was expressed at the community meeting on July 8 when residents asked elected officials within the room why they were not consulted on the decision to end ShotSpotter’s usage.
“If you aren’t actively a part of these communities, or if you aren’t having these conversations with these individuals, how are you going to know how to solve the problem?” said one resident who did not provide their name during public comment.
As the city evolves, sometimes the city’s commitment to public safety has wavered while other times it’s been consistent, said Richard Harding, vice president of the NAACP chapter in Cambridge and a resident of The Port.
Cambridge’s ongoing evolution has created The community worries that they will be further marginalized by the city’s evolution, said Samuel Kwame Dance, who in June became assistant director of violence prevention in Cambridge’s Department for Community Safety, said he hears worries from the community that its members will be further marginalized by Cambridge’s ongoing evolution.
“Folks are feeling left behind because the city is changing,” Dance said.
What can be done?
ShotSpotter will be on the docket at Monday night’s city council meeting. Whether emotions will remain as raw as they were at a special City Council meeting July 23 to discuss public safety within The Port remains to be seen. That night, hours of public comment and debate ended with Councillor Ayah Al-Zubi using her charter right to postpone the vote on a policy order to reinstate the listening technology until tonight’s meeting. .
Some residents within The Port are calling for the reinstatement of ShotSpotter and for other policing technology such as cameras.
Others seek approaches that aren’t technology based.
Selvin Chambers, CEO of The Margaret Fuller House, which works to provide residents with resources to help them on the road to self sustainability, said residents would like to see the police take more of an effort toward community policing. The Margaret Fuller House plans to partner with the city to hire a violence intervention coordinator. The coordinator, a planned October hire, will work within the community to provide residents with resources for jobs, substance abuse solutions and conflict mediation.
Dance is developing a plan to address violence in the community and other concerns within The Port. His goal is to unveil this in the fall, but then continue to update it. “[The plan] can’t stop there, we have to evolve with the community,” Dance said.
Community policing
Prior to the shooting death of Xavier Bautista, police presence in The Port included two patrol cars and three officers. While ShotSpotter opponents have raised the question of overpolicing in Cambridge, many residents of The Port are fine with policing as long as it’s done via the community policing model, said Harding.
“I don’t think the police are the problem,” Harding said. “I believe that the real issue is how the police are deployed.”
He urged police to continue to be in contact with the community so that residents are aware of what is going on.
“What matters is when citizens see police presence, particularly if they know the officers or they’ve engaged with them and they feel like they’re here to protect us, they see them as an ally,” Harding said. “ It’s a plus for any community, particularly a community that’s in distress.”
In a press release on July 13, Meghan Kelly, the chief of administration for the Middlesex DA office, said there would be an increase in CPD presence in and around the Port area after concerns were raised in the community meeting.
Lopez stated that the CPD plans on being responsive to concerns from Port residents and continuing to build relationships within the community.
“While officers continue to respond to crime and investigate incidents, there is also a strong emphasis on relationship-building, problem-solving, and proactive engagement,” Lopez said. “Community policing is not a standalone initiative; it is the foundation of how we approach public safety.”
Lopez, the police department’s director of communications, said “Addressing these issues requires more than enforcement alone, it requires sustained partnerships with residents, community organizations, schools, service providers, and other City departments.”
Dance is developing a plan to address violence in the community and other concerns within The Port. His goal is to unveil this in the fall, but then continue to update it, he said, noting, “[The plan] can’t stop there, we have to evolve with the community.”
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
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