Through the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services program, four Connecticut communities are receiving money to hire more officers. And, much of that money will be targeted for gun violence prevention.
Since 2010, shooting incidents, in the City of Hartford, are down by nearly 20 percent and the number of people actually being shot has declined by 30 percent. And now, and now, a grant of nearly $2 million is aimed at continuing the positive trend.
“We’re gonna get basically 10 officers at no cost to the city for three years through a federal grant,” said Lt. Brian Foley of the Hartford Police Department.
Foley says Hartford’s ten officers will all be new hires, not officers recalled from layoffs, which this federal program allows. But, Hartford Police has a very specific target.
“Specifically, we’re looking to hire at least a veteran or two or some veterans, as many as we can get,” noted Foley.
To Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, this money will continue to separate his city from the pack. He noted that Hartford’s crime solvability rate is over 60 percent. The national average, Segarra says, is approximately 30 percent, which he says sends a clear message to would-be criminals: you’re going to get caught.
Bridgeport, like Hartford, will hire 10 officers…Farmington will add one and Norwich increases staffing by four.