Bar Owners Meet With Police To Discuss Safety After Kidnappings
BOSTON (CBS) - Boston Police brought together roughly 200 bar and restaurant owners and managers Tuesday afternoon for a closed door safety meeting.
"This is all just to send a clear cut message that enough is enough, there are predators out there," Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said after the meeting at the Boston Iron Workers Union in South Boston.
The meeting comes after two young women were abducted over the last two months. One of the victims, 23-year-old Jassy Correia, was found dead in the trunk of a car in Delaware last month.
The second victim, also a 23-year-old woman from Boston, was found alive inside a Charlestown housing development in January.
Commissioner Gross says his department is encouraging businesses to use license readers and security systems to keep their customers safe and prevent these tragedies. Video footage was "instrumental" in both kidnapping investigations Gross said.
BPD is also asking businesses to use common sense and keep an eye on their patrons. If they're too drunk, Gross says they should call for help. Bar owners say they're open to working with police.
"Honestly it's a great meeting. It's a time for us to all come together," said Jeff Goldenberg of The House of Blues. "It takes a village."
Gross says they are in the process of forming a committee made up of law enforcement and business owners to come up with more ideas to keep people safe.