Brookline police cruisers. Photo by Zoe Zekos.
Brookline police have been arresting people on assault charges at rates significantly higher than the statewide average, a stat that Brookline police officials attribute in part to domestic violence.
From 2023 to 2025, assaults made up a quarter of arrests across Massachusetts, according to national data. In Brookline, that figure shoots up to 43%.
Arrests for simple assaults in Brookline rose 15% over the three years, while aggravated assaults, which involve a weapon and serious bodily injuries, nearly doubled, according to data that police agencies statewide provide monthly to the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
Brookline Police Chief Jennifer Paster said domestic violence incidents make up a large share of the town’s simple assault arrests, and a review of the department’s logs supports this.
“It feels like people are starting to boil over a little bit,” Paster said.
Domestic violence cases are typically categorized in the state data under simple or aggravated assaults. While the state doesn’t specifically track domestic violence cases, Brookline police note them in their daily call logs.
Police made dozens of domestic violence arrests in locations ranging from luxury apartment complexes in Brookline Village and Coolidge Corner to single-family homes and public parks. Most of those arrested are men, police logs show.
This year in particular, “there’s not been a week where we’ve not had multiple cases,” said Det. Sgt. Cheryl Molloy, supervisor of the department’s domestic violence unit.
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The number of domestic violence reports remained flat in the last three years as arrests rose. In 2025, 60 domestic violence incidents were reported to Brookline police, department records show, compared to 62 in 2024 and 57 in 2023. Molloy said this year is likely to see numbers grow higher.
Not every report results in an arrest. Molloy said she isn’t sure why more people are being charged, as domestic violence reports remained steady.
“I can’t put a finger on why. My hope would be that more people are reporting because they know that these supports exist and that there’s help out there,” Molloy said. “But you never know.”
Domestic assaults make up about 40% of all assaults reported to Brookline Police over the past three years, the department’s annual reports show.
But those numbers likely only scratch the surface.
“No matter how big the numbers are, they’re just a very small percentage of domestic violence incidents and abusive relationships,” said Stephanie Brown, CEO of Casa Myrna, a Boston nonprofit that helps domestic violence victims. “Most survivors that we work with do not want to involve enforcement.”
One of the biggest challenges Brookline’s DV unit faces is “losing the victim in the process,” Molloy said. Limited legal protections for victims of domestic violence, combined with lengthy criminal trials, make it challenging for victims to keep showing up throughout the legal process.
“Something that happened this weekend, we might not get to an actual criminal trial for two, three years,” said Brookline Det. Rafaela Oliveira, who handles domestic violence, sexual assault and juvenile crime. “Keeping someone on board for that long, it’s really, really difficult.”
The length of the legal process can lead to repeat victims.
“When you lose a victim early on like that, oftentimes we’ll say, I mean, she’ll be back,” Molloy said. “And unfortunately, it’ll be another terrible situation.”
In 2024, Brookline police took out a warrant and were seeking convicted rapist Keith Ashby, 46, when he fatally shot himself and his girlfriend Aanya Vinay, 25, who had sought help from the department. Vinay had obtained a restraining order against Ashby after going to Brookline Police a month before her death.
Residents of wealthy towns like Brookline can have a false sense of protection from violent crimes, Molloy said.
But “you’re not immune because of your zip code,” she said.
Last month in Wellesley, two children, ages 6 and 7, were found dead in their home. Their mother, Janette MacAusland, faces two counts of murder for their deaths, according to news reports. “That’s domestic violence,” Molloy said.
“Brookline is a very affluent town, sort of similar to Wellesley,” she said. “These things can happen anywhere, at any time, and [your] neighbors could be victims.”
In addition to assaults, Brookline’s overall total arrests rose by 13% even despite statewide arrests being on the decline. Over the past year, shoplifting arrests nearly doubled.
“We’re kind of seeing pretty steady shoplifting numbers, and not for basic needs,” Chief Paster said. “More for resale.”
Trader Joe’s and CVS Pharmacy in Coolidge Corner and TJ Maxx on Harvard Street are among the hot spots for shoplifting incidents, Paster said.
Getting a full picture of Brookline’s arrest trends isn’t straightforward.
State law requires police to make a daily log of incidents available to the public, including the names and addresses of those arrested, and criminal charges. Brookline’s daily police logs are not available online, unlike other Greater Boston law enforcement agencies, and can be accessed only on an antiquated computer in the police station.
When Brookline.News sought more information on arrests from 2023 to 2025 in a public records request, Brookline police requested more than $6,000 for the police reports, citing the cost required to search, compile and review the records. Brookline.News did not proceed with the request.