In response to repeated stabbings that have occurred at John F. Kennedy Park in the past two months, Carlone stressed the importance of increasing foot traffic by incentivizing activity at night. “JFK Park is bordered by some housing, but you also have the John F. Kennedy School, which can go dormant,” he said. “I think good urban design can lessen problems because you want activity.”
Many of the candidates addressed the debate about the installation of more closed-circuit security cameras throughout Cambridge—a discussion reinvigorated, some said, by the Marathon bombings.
First installed by the Department of Homeland Security in 2008, Cambridge’s network of surveillance cameras monitors eight locations throughout the city.
“The fact that they’ve just come back to life, back to public discourse, is clearly a response to the April tragedy,” said Phillips, although she cautioned that turning on security cameras “brings up a lot of horrible red flags.”
Other candidates expressed limited support for increased surveillance, provided the public had a say in the process. “If we are going to install cameras in our neighborhoods, we need more input from the public,” said Benzan.
EVERYDAY CHANGES
Some candidates pointed to improving small aspects of city life, from cleanliness to traffic control, as a viable means of reducing the crime rate.
“There's a broken window effect where clean streets and lack of construction and all of this stuff has an impact on the degree of crime,” said candidate Nadeem Mazen, adding that “just keeping the city clean” could help reduce illegal activity.
Candidate Mushtaque Mirza related his own experience being hit by a car while crossing the street to emphasize the importance of preventing traffic law violations. And Carlone suggested the addition of more cameras at traffic lights to reduce drivers going through red lights.
These little changes complement a subtle shift in the way Cantabrigians view safety after the Marathon bombings and their aftermath.
“It’s affected people’s mentality,” Smith said. “When they have larger gatherings, they expect that they’ll see a larger police presence, and I think that’s perfectly okay.”
Still, candidates stressed the strength city residents have shown in response to tragedy and cautioned against taking reactionary policies too far.
“Bad things happen,” Mazen said. “We can organize against them. We do organize against them and our responses are effective.”
—Nikki D. Erlick, Caroline C. Hunsicker, Anja C. Nilsson, Laura K. Reston, Sonali S. Salgado, Henry Shah, and Maia R. Silber contributed reporting to this story.
—Staff writer Antonio Coppola can be reached at antonio.coppola@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @AntonioCoppolaC.
—Staff writer John P. Finnegan can be reached at finnegan@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @finneganspake.