Nearly every major criminal data metric is down year over year across the state of Connecticut, according to a new report released by the Office of Policy and Management's Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division.
Mike Lawlor, the undersecretary of Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, said Connecticut law enforcement officers at every level are better at their jobs than before and that have learned a lot by tracking data.
"We’ve learned so much from being in contact with so many offenders," Lawlor said. "We can separate the high risk from the low risk, the dangerous from the not dangerous out."
Data shows touble can be traced to three places: Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven.
"If you were to take Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven out of the equation, murders are down 20 percent year over year," he said.
Last year, the state saw 62 homicides up until mid-August.
In 2015, the figure is bumped up to 70 due in no small part to the fact that Hartford has seen a significant rise in homicides. So far this year, there have been 24 homicides in the capital city, more than double this time last year.
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Lawlor said there are plans in motion to change that course.
"There’s something going on in Hartford. The governor convened all the experts. We brought the feds, the state together. We think you’ll see some results there. That’s why we keep track of this stuff," he said.
Mayor Pedro Segarra said the assistance has been very helpful in making Hartford a safer city.
"The additional assistance we have received from the state goes a long way in helping us to partner up with state resources and state agencies to bring down and get a hold over the issue of homicides and gun violence in the city of Hartford," the mayor said Thursday.
