Wu admin. to send nearly 100 recent police academy grads to Mass. and Cass

"The document included a number of other updates on the city's strategy to increase public safety and combat outdoor "congregate substance use." "Open substance use in any part of Boston is illegal and unacceptable," the memo reads. "As we have built up a coordinated citywide response to shut down encampments, decrease overdose mortality, and continue to strengthen the continuum of care, our focus is now on ending outdoor substance use in Boston and the criminal activity that supports it.""

"The move comes after months of complaints from residents both near Mass. and Cass and in other parts of the city. The intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue has long been the epicenter of Boston's addiction and homelessness crises. But this year, critics of Mayor Michelle Wu have said that her efforts to clear tents and improve the situation at Mass. and Cass have inadvertently caused public health and safety to deteriorate in other neighborhoods."

The Wu administration will increase police presence around the Mass. and Cass intersection, bolstered by nearly 100 recent Boston Police Academy graduates. Boston's Coordinated Response Team included additional police staffing and other updates to the city's strategy to increase public safety and combat outdoor congregate substance use. Officials state that open substance use in any part of Boston is illegal and unacceptable, and that the focus is on ending outdoor substance use and the criminal activity that supports it. Mass. and Cass has been an epicenter of addiction and homelessness, and some residents and critics say tent clearings have displaced problems to other neighborhoods. A public hearing will allow comment after Councilor Ed Flynn filed a resolution seeking a public health emergency and called for zero tolerance for criminal activity.

Read at Boston.com