CT Crime Increasing Another Coronavirus Symptom: Police

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut saw the largest drop in violent crime across the country in the past decade, but the downward trend has now reversed — the trend isn’t a Connecticut-specific problem and is being seen across the country.

Police point to the pandemic as one of the major causes as juveniles are learning remotely and dealing with other pandemic-induced challenges including food insecurity, cities being hit hard by coronavirus infections and other economic challenges.

“There are more people in crisis due to the pandemic, there are more people who have mental health problems and because of this we are seeing this high spike in violence, especially gun violence,” said Archie Generoso, director of Project Longevity and a former New Haven Police Department assistant chief.

Connecticut awarded New Haven and Waterbury with $150,000 grants each from federal coronavirus funds to help with the situation. New Haven will use its share to fund unexpected pandemic-related costs for Project Longevity. Project Longevity focuses on a small percentage of people who are likely to cause violence in the city. It connects members with a range of services including workforce development, addiction services and housing — at the same time it brings focused law enforcement attention to individuals or groups who are contributing to the violence.

Communities of color are being especially challenged by the pandemic, including access to personal protective equipment and high infection rates in cities, said Stacy Spell, Project Longevity manager of New Haven. Some families are relying on food pantries for the first time in their lives.

“We have people who may have been gainfully employed with a sustainable wage who are now reduced in their hours,” he said. “...they are now looking for resources to feed their family.”

Schools going remote has also posed a challenge to keeping students engaged and out of trouble, Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary said. O’Leary is the former Waterbury police chief and founder of the Waterbury Police Athletic League.

“We need to get our kids back to school as soon as possible because they’re home, and they’re not in a structured environment,” he said.

Both Waterbury and New Haven public schools are on remote learning. New Haven has been remote since the start of the school year and Waterbury transitioned to full remote learning in mid-November.

It’s also been difficult for police to keep an eye on the most at-risk population and to coordinate with other agencies such as state parole and probation offices, O’Leary said.

Some shooting incidents in Waterbury involve as many as 20 or 30 shots being fired, said Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo. Some recovered guns were traced back to straw purchases, which is when a person legally buys a gun and then gives it to someone like a convicted felon who is prohibited from owning a gun.

Waterbury had the highest coronavirus infection rate per capita in Connecticut over the past two weeks, according to the state Department of Public Health. There were 112 daily average coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents — the city also had a 12.9 percent positive test rate, which was the second highest.

New Haven has seen an increase in robberies and motor vehicle thefts being committed by juveniles, said New Haven Police Chief Otoniel Reyes.

“It’s very concerning, and we know that’s a byproduct of the pandemic,” Reyes said, adding that it’s been more difficult to get services to the juveniles who need it.

The department is taking a focused approach to the juveniles who are engaging in the most risky dangerous criminal behavior, Reyes said. City officers found juveniles in a running car in the middle of the night. The car had been reported stolen and one of the juveniles had a gun.

The juvenile went to retrieve the handgun from their waistband, but officers deescalated the situation. Officers knew the juvenile had been on a crime spree and there was no missing persons report on the juvenile. It was the latest example of an underlying issue that needed to be addressed to curb juvenile crime, Reyes said.

Juveniles tend to have better outcomes if their crimes are addressed through a juvenile review board, which encourages diversionary programs instead of putting them through the criminal justice system.

“I think over the years we’ve done a much better job of addressing juvenile-related crimes, but we’re spiking right now and I think the JRB is probably a very sound way to address this,” he said.