Three new public facing security cameras were recently installed on Beacon Hill as part of a community funded effort to curb crime in the area, but circumstances around their installation have left some questions unanswered.

The cameras, which were installed after efforts lead by the Beacon Hill Business Association (BHBA) and the Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) raised money for what they believed would be a single camera, have led to questions about funding sources and credit for the grassroots effort.

Conversations among the organizations about reducing crime on Beacon Hill go back further than COVID, said Josh Leffler, chair of the BHCA, and Ali Ringenberg, owner of Sloan Merril Gallery on Charles Street and a board member on both the BHCA and BHBA, in a joint interview. But concern culminated in the summer of 2023 with a string of break-ins on Charles Street.

“[There was] one man who was haunting Charles Street every night in the early morning,” Ringenberg said. “Breaking into stores, breaking a window, turning a lock on a door and ravaging the stores. Leaving blood on merchandise and on counters, searching for money or electronics to sell. This string of burglaries went on for like a week and he wasn’t caught.”

Beacon Hill community members went to the Boston Police Department (BPD) and asked what could be done to curb crime in the area. Leffler and Ringenberg said that the BPD identified Charles Street as a “blind spot” and that public facing security cameras would be the best solution, but that they would be unable to secure public funding for an installation. Not discouraged, the community organizations took it upon themselves to raise funding, an amount they would not disclose, to pay a contractor on behalf of the BPD to install a camera at the corner of Beacon and Charles Streets which the BPD would operate and maintain.

“Why is it that a public safety tool that is so helpful to the Boston Police Department doesn't exist in parts of various neighborhoods? Why are nonprofits, civic organizations and other entities funding these tools?” Leffler said. Both Leffler and Ringenberg had high praise for the BPD in helping them to identify a solution.

But when the work was completed, community leaders were surprised to discover, through an email from their City Councilor Sharon Durkan, that three cameras had been put in place instead of just one. Additional cameras were installed at the corners of Charles and Mount Vernon Streets, and Beacon and Brimmer Streets. Councilor Durkan publicly acknowledged the installation of the cameras but attributed special credit to the mayor’s office. This statement did not sit well with the community groups that had worked diligently to raise funds for the project. Representatives of the BHCA and BHBA rebuked the councilor over email that their grassroots efforts were seemingly overlooked, especially since they had taken on the responsibility after being told there were no city funds available for such a project.

Leffler and Ringenberg were quick to emphasize their appreciation for the additional cameras and express their thanks for Councilor Durkan’s close involvement in the community, though they remained unsure about the project’s unexpected details.

Attempts to clarify the funding situation have been met with silence from key officials. The BPD did not respond to questions regarding the installation of the cameras, the effectiveness of cameras on crime rates or whether public funds had contributed to the expansion beyond the single camera the community had paid for. Over the phone, a spokesperson for the BPD Media Relations Office said they did not know about the cameras. Similarly, Councilor Durkan did not respond to questions about her remarks or the additional cameras.

“If the city says that the way for Beacon Hill to have higher quality of life is for us to contribute resources and work towards that as a neighborhood, we will do that. Whether or not we feel like that is a gap that should be bridged by our elected officials and government agencies, we will step in and do that,” Leffler said.