Police Chief: FBI Report Missing 'Narrative' to Put Malden Crime into Context

"I don't like to downgrade stats. I'd never do that," Molis said, but "I can look at statistical crime that doesn't tell me a narrative."

Molis, who became police chief in March of this year, provided an example of "real incidents" the department has faced to put the crime data into perspective. 

"There was an estranged girlfriend who still retained the key to her boyfriend's apartment, entered the apartment at night while he was there with a new girlfriend to check in on him," Molis said. "She was arrested because a disturbance occurred for breaking and entering. The elements were met. She entered the dwelling of another person without permission so she got locked up for (breaking and entering). You could live to the left of that house break, to the right of that house or in the second floor apartment. Are you in any danger of a house break? No.

"But, you would be if we had a situation where some stranger booted in the back door and stole all your jewelry and computer equipment. Both crimes appear on the UCR as a burglary. The statistic lacks a narrative and the reality of a community-based assessment of what crime is."

Molis said there are several variables that also come into play that need to be taken into consideration, including the training received for one department compared to another or how vigilant the residents of a community are when it comes to reporting crimes that may have occurred in their neighborhood. If a community is more engaged than another similar one, then it's likely they'll have more reported instances of crime when in reality the crimes occurring in both communities may actually be different than what the report shows due to crimes not being reported by citizens, he explained. 

In Malden, Molis said he wants to be as transparent with residents as possible so they understand the realities facing the department and that he welcomes questions from them either in person, email or over the phone.

"An active and engaged community is the best tool to making a community safe," he said.

Molis, a lifelong Maldonian who has more than 30 years of policing experience, said the department is looking to hire a full-time civilian crime analyst and that one round of interviews has already taken place and the next round likely will happen sometime in the next two weeks. The new position, which would be similar to the one Everett Police currently have in place, has received the support of both Mayor Gary Christenson and the City Council, he added.

The crime analyst would "help us get a better, accurate and timely assessment of real crime intelligence, real crime data so that we can educate, inform and inspire the public and also allocate and deploy our resources in the right place at the right time," Molis said. 

"This is going to be a dramatic improvement of the police department and the community because we're going to start looking at crime, analyzing crime and assessing crime in an extremely accurate and timely manner which is the foundation of providing good information to the public," said the police chief. 

Molis emphasized the importance of public safety as a collaborative effort and how it's "not just delivered by a police officer in a cruiser or a detective" handling an investigation. He attributes community safety to the work happening at the local teen center, the schools and through the efforts of Roca which strives to "help disengaged and disenfranchised young people move out of violence and poverty," according to the organization's website.

The police chief said city officials have been very supportive in providing assistance where it can, including bringing on more police personnel and installing surveillance cameras around Malden. 

"Since I have been chief we have had six officers graduate the police academy in Plymouth, one officer graduated the academy in Reading, two officers are with us as a result of lateral transfers from other municipalities, and three officers will graduate from the Boylston Police Academy on Friday, Nov. 29th," he said.

Christenson and Police Commissioner Salvatore “Butch” Gennetti recently announced the reassignment of three of Malden’s Police Officers, according to a city press statement. 

The officers have been assigned to the schools, Malden Square and the MBTA area, reads the statement. Officer Brian Tilley has been assigned to Malden High School, bilingual Officer Gus Krewschewsky will work the K-8 schools and Officer Jean LaMour will be patrolling the downtown and Malden Square areas, according to Molis.