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Crime Story
Behind sunny Connecticut crime stats lie some causes for concern
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Business New Haven
10/18/1999
By: Michele Beck
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Is Connecticut really as safe as many of its residents have come to believe in recent years?
According to the recently released Crime in Connecticut 1998 Annual Report, total recorded criminal offenses in 1998 were the lowest they have been since the publication began in 1977. However, while the overall volume of crime in Connecticut may be down, more violent crimes have taken a disturbing curve upwards.
Last year there were 135 homicides in Connecticut, up 8.9 percent from the 1997. While murder is up, rape declined from 740 reported incidents in 1997 to 727 last year. Property crimes, such as burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft, are also down.
Perhaps the most eye-opening section of the State Police report is the "Connecticut Crime Clock." In Connecticut, one murder takes place on average every 2.7 days. There is one reported rape every 12 hours. An aggravated assault occurs every 1.3 hours.
Although crime is down statistically, the numbers may not help anyone sleep better at night.
New Haven Police Chief Melvin H. Wearing is optimistic about the 1998 figures. He says crime has fallen in both the state and the Elm City, in the latter case primarily due to community policing.
"There are more officers in neighborhoods," says Wearing. "We just added another 20 officers on bicycles around the downtown area. [Bicycle patrols] have been really well received. People feel safer. A [police] uniform is a deterrent to crime."
Wearing also says that crime is moving out of urban areas at a steady pace because there is more pressure on deterring criminal activity in the city. And although the murder rate is up in the state, it has dropped since the beginning of the decade. According to police records, the number of homicides in New Haven has fallen from 31 in 1990 to 15 last year.
"We have a great detective's bureau in New Haven," Wearing says. "They solve crimes quickly and avoid retaliation from aggravated assaults. The city is safer than it's been in 15 years."
Anecdotally, many say the beefed-up security and police presence in the downtown area has made visitors and residents feel more secure to attend plays, dine out and enjoy the New Haven nightlife. Although the city has had a tough time shrugging off its late-'80s and early-'90s image as New England's Dodge City, Wearing says he is determined to change people's perceptions.
"We [police] want people to feel comfortable to walk around the downtown area," Wearing says. "Two people always feel more comfortable walking together at night than alone. I would suggest that people try to have someone with them to make them feel more comfortable."
East Haven Police Chief Leonard Gallo notes an inverse relationship between prosperity and criminal activity.
"The economy is a big part of it," Gallo says. "If someone gets paroled [from prison] and they have a job, maybe they will be more likely to stay out of trouble."
In addition to the economy, Gallo says social factors and education play a major role in the amount of criminal activity.
"Police are not solely responsible for the decrease or the rise in crime," Gallo asserts. "There are lot of other aspects that you have to look at."
Crime in East Haven is down 31 percent from last quarter. Gallo says that good police work and high police visibility deter crime generally, though they have little deterrent effect on "crimes of passion" such as rape, murder or domestic disputes.
"We've definitely taken a more pro-active approach [in East Haven]," Gallo says. "Our police cars are now white with iridescent blue and gold stripes. They used to be dark blue and you could hardly see them. I think people feel safer if they see more police actually out on the streets."
The Connecticut State University [CSU] system police departments also reported arrest figures for 1998. One notable discrepancy between arrest records at the flagship University of Connecticut and the four other state universities is that UConn police made many more arrests compared to their peers at other state schools. There were 158 people charged with driving under the influence at UConn/Storrs last year. Western and Southern Connecticut State reported no such arrests, while Eastern and Central reported three and two arrests, respectively.
Another dramatic difference in statistics came in figures for drug violations within the state university system. UConn/Storrs topped the list again with 68 arrests in 1998. Central followed with 13, Eastern with five, Western with three, and Southern trailed with two arrests. UConn Police Chief Robert Hudd could not be reached for comment.
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