SPRINGFIELD – During the period leading up to the state referendum to legalize casino gaming in the commonwealth, critics of it predicted an upswing in criminal activities.

According to a new report issued last week by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), “only a few crimes increased in surrounding agencies during this period. While some of these increases have possible links to MGM, there is no general consistency across the surrounding agencies and very little definitive proof of a casino connection among specific offenders.”

The report’s author, MGC consultant and crime analyst Christopher Bruce, added, “Despite hypotheses from before the casino opened, there is so far no sign that the presence of the casino has increased crime or calls for service at hotels, restaurants, bars, and gas stations … nor has it increased activity specifically within the radiuses of highway exits to and from the facility.

According to the report, “The surrounding communities saw some increases and decreases but very few consistent trends to which MGM Springfield serves as a clear source. Issues most likely influenced by the casino include:

• A fairly small increase in drunk driving.

• An increase in shoplifting and other crimes at 24-hour facilities in the immediate block of the casino, including a CVS and a Pride gas station.

• Increases in traffic-related complaints in some communities and along State Police roads.

• An increase in activity at Union Station in Springfield specifically. (The facility had been closed between 1973 and 2017, but crimes and calls increased even in comparison to the combined values at the previous train station and bus stations.)”

The report adds, “There were several common trends among the agencies for which no direct MGM nexus could be identified (e.g., an arrested offender known to visit the establishment) but which have a logical connection, a spatial connection, or both:

• Increases in shoplifting among several of the communities.

•  Continued patterns of purse snatching, this time in Springfield and Holyoke (West Springfield has been affected in the past).

• Higher-than expected residential burglary totals in the area surrounding Springfield’s Metro Center.

•  Patterns of fraud and confidence swindles, particularly in East Longmeadow and Longmeadow.

This report covers the period up until last year when the pandemic forced the closure of the state’s three casinos – a period of 18 months.

The report was made public at the MGC’s meeting on March 25.

Reminder Publishing asked MGM Springfield for a reaction but the casino executives declined to comment.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno did release a statement to Reminder Publishing, “The report shows it’s negligible. MGM continues to create direct positive effects and spinoffs for Springfield.  Overall crime is currently down over 20 percent, except for the repeat violent criminal offenders (felony assaults), which our Springfield Police Department are continually arresting, but our ‘revolving door’ court system continues to let them out to perpetuate more crimes.”

Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood said, “Our crime analysts identify trends and patterns in the area around MGM Springfield in real-time and then our officers address any issues that arise.  What we’ve seen in the area is businesses dealing with quality-of-life issues that we attribute to drug dependent individuals and a methadone clinic as well as some low-level criminal activity like shoplifting that drug dependent individuals are drawn to.  We have not seen any issues directly related to MGM Springfield that have had a negative impact on our community since they opened.”

The report was mandated by the legislation that legalized casino gaming. Crime information for Encore Boston Harbor in Everett was also analyzed.

The report noted, “The public safety report for Encore Boston Harbor reflects the property’s first eight months of operations, along with three months of closure for COVID-19, and three months of restricted reopening in 2020. Encore Boston Harbor drew more than 3.5 million visitors during its first eight months of operations, and the study concluded that the facility’s overall effect on crime numbers in the region is ‘commensurate with a facility of that size hosting that many visitors.