Recent violence in Dorchester and Mattapan, including a horrific murder at a barbershop that went viral on social media, has one Boston city councilor calling for more of a police presence in those two neighborhoods.

City Council Vice President Brian Worrell alerted various neighborhood groups via email Monday that he plans to formally request that the Boston Police Department beef up their patrols and staffing levels in the B-3 and C-11 precincts “over the long term,” citing the “recent violence” that has occurred in “our community.”

“Simply put, the issues our neighborhoods face require a higher level of community policing than we currently face — specifically to get established walking beats in our Main Streets and business corridors,” Worrell wrote in one email that was obtained by the Herald.

The two precincts flagged by Worrell encompass Dorchester and Mattapan, two of the four city neighborhoods where the majority of serious gun violence was found to have occurred over a four-year period, from 2018-22, according to data released by the city in the spring of 2023. The others were Jamaica Plain and Roxbury.

Worrell, a progressive Democrat who represents Dorchester and Mattapan on the City Council, said Tuesday that he was compelled to make the request for additional police, based on feedback he’s received from businesses and residents, in light of not only several recent instances of violence, but also the general violence that occurs there.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had a few violent incidents in some of our business districts,” Worrell told the Herald. “It is a combination of both, what I’m hearing from residents and civic association leaders and safety force task leaders.

“They’re in these areas every day, they live there, and they feel that a dedicated walking beat will be helpful to meeting their needs and helping provide stability and the presence of safety in their community,” he added.

Worrell said his request for more police officers is aimed at providing residents and businesses, some of whom he says have been considering moving out of those neighborhoods due to violence, with “peace of mind.”

The second-term councilor said he’s no stranger to feedback from businesses expressing their fear that employees will no longer want to come to work or their customers won’t return after the occurrence of “tragic incidents,” such as this month’s Labor Day double-shooting and murder at a Dorchester barbershop.

Gruesome footage of the aftermath of the Sept. 2 afternoon shooting, showing one victim dead in a barber chair and the other victim shot, bleeding on the floor, at Exclusive Barbershop went viral on social media after it was posted by an Internet personality, who later took it down at the request of the family.

“I live not too far from there,” Worrell said. “That is a barbershop that I have got my hair cut at multiple times. I know the barbers there very well. So, it not only happened in my district, but in the neighborhood in which I had grown up in.”

He said another violent incident occurred at a barbershop on the same strip, about two years ago, referencing what happened in October 2022, when a man was gunned down at Dorchester’s Celebrity Cuts Barbershop, during business hours.

Worrell said his request for more police is data-driven, saying that his office has been looking at where gun arrests, violent incidents and police deployment are occurring, along with department staffing levels.

“We feel the data points to the need for more bodies,” he said.

Worrell has not formally made his request to the Boston Police Department, saying that he was seeking input and support from neighborhood civic groups first, but may encounter some pushback, based on a statement provided by the department.

Boston Police spokesperson Mariellen Burns shared statistics showing “overall incidents of violent part one crime are down” in both cited districts year to date.

In precinct B3, there were 330 incidents in 2023 compared to 319 in 2024, and in C11, there were 350 incidents last year compared to 344 this year, BPD stats show.

“Based on our community policing model, the department deploys officers guided by intelligence, data and by listening to the concerns of those who live in those neighborhoods,” Burns said.

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“Beginning in 2022, under Mayor Wu and Commissioner Cox’s leadership, BPD has put on the largest classes in at least 20 years and by far the most diverse classes in BPD history,” Burns added. “Another class is currently in the academy and two classes are planned for 2025.”

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The mayor and BPD leadership pushed back last month on a different Council request from Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, who were calling for action to increase overall police staffing levels, which will be discussed at a Thursday hearing.

Worrell said his request is different, in that it’s seeking a redirection of resources to those two neighborhoods, rather than calling for action to increase hiring. He also noted that tackling violence is not just “on the shoulders” of the police department.

“Every city department plays a role,” Worrell said. “The police department isn’t the silver bullet. It’s an all-hands-on-deck solution that needs to happen in order to address and mitigate violent incidents and make sure that our community and people visiting our community feel safe.”

A view of the Exclusive Barbershop, scene of a fatal shooting on Washington Street in Dorchester last weekend. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)