Hartford Police Utilizing Different Strategies To Help Cut Down On Violence

Hartford investigators have been busy during the last week after three homicides have occurred within that time frame.

The latest took place on Irving Street Wednesday afternoon after an altercation between two individuals.

According to the Hartford Police Department, in the second week of May of 2019, the city had eight homicides. During that same time in 2020, the city had nine.

So far, Hartford has had 16 homicides in 2021. Officials said they're increasing the police presence around the city.

"It's a busy year for us thus far," said Lt. Aaron Boisvert. "The police department is out here, people are being held over, people are coming in, ordered in and people are volunteering to come to work these hours because that's what we're dealing with."

Hartford is one of the many cities seeing an uptick so far, according to Lisa Dadio, the director of the Center for Advanced Policing for the University of New Haven.

"It's actually a phenomenon that is occurring worldwide and has occurred worldwide," said Dadio.

The former New Haven officer also believes the rise in violence could be linked to the pandemic, time of year and the fact that community policing came to a halt in 2020.

"I believe the fact that for over a year, people have been kind of low-key, hunkered down and not going out as much could be a reason for the uptick," said Dadio. "The heat itself, tempers are short and conflict resolution can sometimes go out of the window."

Dadio hope is to see this trend of violence end before we get into the hottest month of the year.

"If we continue the path we're currently on throughout the state of Connecticut, we're going to see record-high numbers of shootings and homicides in your city," said Dadio.

As for the latest homicide, anyone with any information is asked to contact the police or call 860-722-8477.