WCVB-TV reports that Natick Police have arrested two juveniles related to an overnight break-in at the Royal Smoke Shop on Rte. 9 east. The shop has been under siege, with 10 such incidents over the past year, not to mention a bold theft right in front of the owner, according to information shared with WCVB by the store owner, a longtime Natick resident. The thefts have cost the owner tens of thousands of dollars, he said.
Kudos to WCVB for reporting this story. We are making efforts to bring more transparency to Natick police activity. The department’s website and social media channels rarely share information to help residents and businesses stay informed about crime trends in town, though the department does faithfully post arrest and incident logs in a rather cryptic format. We’re working with Boston University computer and data science students to help you better visualize this arrest and incident data, make some sense of it . What we currently have posted is a work in progress.
