Beginning Friday, Hartford police are stepping up patrols throughout the summer, focusing on targeted areas where crime is heaviest in the city.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said, so far this year, there have been 10 homicides in the city of Hartford and about 75 shootings. Last year, at this time, there were 12 homicides and about 50 shootings.
“We have seen an uptick in shootings over the past number of weeks,” said Mayor Bronin, who added that stepping up police presence this summer could curb that deadly trend.
Hartford Police Chief David Rosado said the safety initiative looks at hotspots throughout the city where this crime is the most prevalent, rather than targeting neighborhoods.
“We’re following our stats and following where the crime is happening,” he said, “and we’re going to stop that.”
Under the safety initiative, Hartford police has added a Street Crimes Unit, which consists of eight officers and one sergeant.
Two-men patrols will walk overnight throughout some of the city’s most high-crime sections as a way to keep their eyes out for violence and establish relationships with residents. Four additional officers will be added to each of the three patrol shifts. Some officers will be in uniform while others will be undercover.
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“We know in the city who our most violent offenders are. We’re going to go after them, I’m here to tell you that. We’re not going to tolerate it as a police department,” Rosado said.
Hartford police are also adding state police detectives and an FBI official to their force.
They will also work closely with the DEA and ATF.
“Much of the violence that we’re seeing is not random violence,” Bronin said. “It is tied in with drugs, it is gang or group related.”
Meanwhile, recreational centers Parker Memorial Community Center and the Samuel V. Arroyo Recreational Center are focusing on keeping the youth safe. They’re extending their summer hours every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, keeping their doors open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. with activities for boys and girls and young adults, ages 13 to 24. The extended programming begins Thursday, June 21 and ends Saturday, Aug. 25. The programs are giving young adults incentives to join, like helping them find jobs.
Kim Oliver, the director of the Department of Family Youth and Recreation, said those opportunities are “immediately able to pipeline young people in that age group right into opportunities to receive paid wages.”
Mayor Bronin plans to hold community meetings throughout the summer to hear residents’ ideas about improving neighborhood safety.
