The BPD is ready for the seriously sizable security operation that is the 127th Boston Marathon, according to the city’s new police commissioner.
“We have a whole host of law enforcement agencies — including federal — that are involved in making sure that it is a safe event,” Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said.
Cox, speaking with WCVB’s Sharman Sacchetti and Ed Harding for their Sunday politics show On the Record, said that though this year’s race will be the first with him leading the Boston Police Department, it will be the “30-something-th” marathon he’s attended as a law enforcement official in the city.
“I’m confident that, going into it, we’re doing all we can to continue to make sure that it’s a safe event,” he told the hosts.
The race, which annually sees nearly 30,000 people from over 100 countries test their speed and endurance through 26.2 miles of Massachusetts’ roadways, does not start in Boston, a though sizable portion of the trek sees runners winding their way through the city’s neighborhoods before they cross the finish line in the middle of Boylston Street.
This year will mark a decade since a terrorist bombing at the race’s end killed three, injured hundreds and shocked the city and state. Cox said the Boston Police Department has made adjustments to their security operations since that tragedy, but did not go into specifics.
“We’ve been doing it for a long period of time. We’re confident that our plan is certainly robust and everyone should know coming in that it’s always going to be a family friendly event,” he said. “This year will be no different, but we’ve learned quite a few lessons and adjusted over the years.”
Cox was also asked to respond to questions about violent crime in the city, where there have been 11 murders so far this year. The commissioner said that Boston is, in fact, quite safe.
“Boston is one of the safest cities in America, period. Our crime statistics show that,” he said. “That being said when someone dies — for the family, for the community — that’s too much. One death is too much.”
The commissioner said that he wants residents to know the police department is doing all they can to combat violent crime, but that the city’s officers alone cannot solve the violence problem.
“Safer communities exist when everyone in the community is involved in the safety of the community,” he said, before encouraging residents to work with police officers and get to know one another.
The 127th Boston Marathon sets off next Monday with racers in the wheelchair division starting at 9:02 a.m. The men’s professional start is at 9:37 a.m., followed by the professional women at 9:47 a.m..