With homicides in Hartford now at 20 for the year, the city's police chief is outlining a new non-traditional approach to fighting crime that he hopes will help cut down on retaliation.
During a meeting with Mothers United Against Violence Monday night, Chief James Rovella outlined his new idea.
"Let's stop retaliation. Let's stop it right now," Rovella told the group.
Rovella said he wants to ink a formal deal with the group for a one-year project to reduce retaliation after violent crimes.
"These are mothers and families that have suffered a great loss, and folks listen to them, as they should," said Rovella.
He's hoping members will continue reaching out to those affected by violence, but in a more sophisticated way.
Under his vision, they'll get access to real-time information about crimes, and a $10,000 to $15,000 budget from the federal asset forfeiture program to deliver their message, Rovella said.
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"To help them say listen, there's services available for you and there's also, let's not retaliate. Let's cooperate with the police. Let the police handle it and it's not a matter for their family because they'll just lose those family members to violence or to jail," said Rovella.
The chief stressed he's not looking to put members in danger or have them provide information about crimes.
"I'm hoping it will begin to open the doors to conversation a little more. I'm also hoping that it prevents retaliation because those are the numbers that we want to prevent in the long run," said Rovella.
Reverend Sam Saylor lost his son, Shane Oliver, to gun violence in Hartford back in 2012.
"It's definitely a testament to the work that's been going on," said Saylor, who's part of Mothers United Against Violence. "This gives us some attention and some funds to really put people to work and send them out there to do the work that they need cause we don't need street retaliation."
Details of the agreement have yet to be finalized.
It's expected to take about a month to draft a memorandum of understanding, according to Rovella.
After that, the proposal will have to get approval from the mayor and others before the project moves forward.
