May 6, 2010

By Rick Winterson

Captain Richard Evans assumed command of Station 6 in Area C at the end of January, shortly after attaining the rank of Captain.  He is delighted to be working in South Boston again; he intends to focus his efforts on substance abuse and community partnerships.

Captain Richard Evans took over command of South Boston’s Station 6 from retiring Captain Robert Flaherty three months ago. 

Evans was born and brought up in Dorchester, on Ashmont Street in St. Anne’s Parish.  His parents were Ruth and Frank Evans, who came from South Boston originally and was himself a Boston Police Officer before becoming disabled.  Evans is one of five brothers.

Captain Evans is well-educated.  He began at the Thomas J. Kenny School and went to middle school at Grover Cleveland.  Both of them are still located in Dorchester, on Oakton and Charles Streets, respectively.  He then went on to the Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood.

Evans’s college education includes an undergraduate degree from the School of Management at Boston College (1981), where in his words, “I worked morning, noon, and night to pay my way through.  It was back in those days when B.C. still had a number of students who commuted.”  While he was in the Boston Police Department, Evans went on to obtain a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from New England College, which is in Springfield.  He got that degree at a nearby satellite campus in 1998.

Condensing his 26 years of experience into one article is difficult.  Evans recalled becoming a permanent Boston police officer in December, 1983.  He remembers his first New Year’s Eve as a Patrol Supervisor, when shots rang out – “I saw it all that night.”  There was the chase that ended with the culprit’s truck crashing into St. Patrick’s Church on Dudley.  He spent ten years here in South Boston (’88 to ’97) with George Bilotte as his partner.  Bilotte recently returned here also, as a member of C-6 Community Services.  Evans made Sergeant in 1997, and became a Lieutenant in 2006.  He has served in Mattapan, Dorchester, and Brighton, as well as other areas.  After taking the test late last year, he was appointed a B.P.D. Captain and assigned to South Boston.  

Captain Evans is focused on two major issues in South Boston – substance abuse and partnerships within the community.

He is emphatic in stating that substance abuse – both drugs and alcohol – is the overriding policing and law enforcement problem in South Boston.  He says, “Substance abuse drives the large majority of crimes in South Boston, including theft and domestic violence.  We have one of Boston’s safest and nicest communities here, but drugs are a serious problem.  And overdoses have resulted in three deaths over the past few months alone.”

Despite the known problems, Evans is optimistic.  He mentioned the drop in breakings-and-enterings (B&Es) from 40 last year to 24 at the same time this year.  Often, that stems from apprehending just a few repeat offenders.  He also is a supporter of prevention:  stopping dealers, using court diversion programs, and working with youth.  “We can’t arrest our way out of crime.” he says.

His other aim involves outreach.  He states, “We have tremendous community partnerships now.  We want those to continue.”  That means dedication to working with residents, schools, civic groups, officials at all levels, and the South Boston Association of Non-Profits.  Everyone in the community has to take ownership of problems here. 

Captain Evans has been married almost 20 years.  He met his wife on the job; she works as an administrator.  The Evanses live on the South Shore and have two boys aged 19 and 16 – one in college and one in high school.  The Captain uses swimming and hiking to stay in shape.  He’s reading Hemingway’s “Farewell to Arms” at the moment, and enjoys vacation breaks in New Hampshire.

At the close of this interview, Captain Evans said, “I’m happy to be back.  There are great people here, and great traditions.  South Boston has changed, but that’s because it has always been a great place to live.  My challenge is to keep it that way.”