Boston Council Hears Testimony on $1.73 Million Anti-Gang Youth Grant

BOSTON — June 5, 2025 — Boston City Council committee holds oversight hearing on $1.73 million state anti-gang grant. The Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice, chaired by at-large Councillor Henry Santana, convened Thursday to take testimony on Docket No. 0394, authorizing the city to accept $1,735,107.39 from the FY25 Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative, a Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security grant administered by the Boston Police Department across 27 programs. Councillor Edward M. Flynn, a former probation officer, was the only other member present, with Councillors Enrique J. Pepén and Brian Worrell submitting letters of absence. Student witnesses from Community Academy urged the council to direct funds toward paid internships, job training, and community centers rather than law enforcement, with one 16-year-old testifying that 18 Boston youth under 18 were shot in a single recent year. Santana noted that since the grant's 2006 inception through 2023, BPD data shows a 16 percent drop in homicides and a 10 percent drop in total violent crime at a cost of $350 per young person served.