Safety index · Boston · data through September 2026
Is Jamaica Plain safe?
Jamaica Plain shows a typical level of reported crime for Boston. Its SafeRoute safety index is 55 out of 100 — right at the citywide median of 55, ranking 13th of 25 Boston neighborhoods — based on 736 incidents reported to the Boston Police within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to September 2026.
DATA THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2026 · 8 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to Boston — a typical Boston neighborhood sits near 55. It ranks Jamaica Plain against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 33% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
Reported incidents here skew to daytime and evening hours — only about 13% of severity-weighted reports fall overnight (midnight–6 a.m.).
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Other theft | 245 · 33% | |
| Violent crime | 88 · 12% | |
| Public order | 94 · 13% | |
| Vehicle crime | 106 · 14% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 56 · 8% | |
| Drugs | 71 · 10% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from police incident timestamps.
Walking in Jamaica Plain at night?
SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same live crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Pick the safer way, share your walk, and check in when you arrive. Free, no account.
Get SafeRoute on the App StoreNearby areas
- Roxbury47/100 · Elevated
- Mission Hill62/100 · Moderate
- Roslindale86/100 · Low risk
- Longwood66/100 · Moderate
- Mattapan48/100 · Elevated
Common questions
Is Jamaica Plain safe at night?
Moderate overall (safety index 55/100). About 40% of severity-weighted incidents in Jamaica Plain are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a block or two of detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.
What is the most common crime in Jamaica Plain?
Other theft — 245 of 736 incidents (33%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 8 months to September 2026.
How is the Jamaica Plain safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the Boston Police Department by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last available period within 1 km of the neighborhood center, and normalizes against citywide crime rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety. The scale is calibrated within Boston, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.