Guardian Angels to Lead Class As Arboretum Boosts Security

The local chapter of the Guardian Angels will teach a crash course in self-defense at Harvard's Arnold Arboretum this summer, assisting the Jamaica Plain community in its effort to increase security at the park.

In the wake of a series of rapes and assaults at the 265-acre facility, residents in the Arboretum area have banded together to step up security measures. The Arboretum Committee (a neighborhood group), recently accepted the Guardian Angels' and as part of a broad program to improve safety at the facility. In addition, the committee has raised $10,000 in private donations towards a $50,000 goal to establish a pilot program of mounted patrols, said Kate Nixon, an Arboretum spokesman.

Five women have been attacked at the Arboretum since March 15, in two rapes, an assault, and a stabbing. The most recent incident at the park was the rape of a woman jogger at knifepoint on May 14.

The Angels' "women street survival" course attempts, in five two-hour sessions, to teach women to defend themselves against assault. The Angels will attempt to limit the free 25-member course--which has filled up and has a waiting list--to women, because men are less likely to be assaulted, Angels' leader Charles F. Mehlinger said yesterday.

"An attacker will definitely think twice, because he won't know who he'll be messing with," Mehlinger said.

Pressure

Community pressure has already prompted an increase in police patrols at the park. Last month, police added a motorcycle patrol and a mounted police officer to the Arboretum.

The recent increased police watch patrolling has improved the park attendance, but the inhabitants of the area are still pushing for more security measures, Nixon said.

Harvard leases the park from the city of Boston for $1 a year, but according to the lease's terms the city is responsible for the park's security. The University has contributed $2000 towards the Arboretum's $50,000 goal for mounted patrols, according to Harvard Community Relations Director Richard J. Doherty.