The newest numbers show good news for the city of New Haven, because homicides, non-fatal shootings and shots fired have all declined since this time last year.
“I could put up another chart that I have in front of me of every category of crime, because every category of crime is down in the city,” said New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman.
City officials are attributing the decrease in violence to recent initiatives, which target at-risk youth. One of them is Youth Stat, which has identified 333 students to keep an eye on.
“We're actively following 200 of those students who have themselves, or their parents signed consent forms, which have let us work across agencies to support those students,” said New Haven Public Schools Supt. Garth Harries.
The key has been to engage the community through Youth at Work programs and neighborhood meetings and canvasses.
“We went around speaking to parents, we also had teachers with us speaking to parents and children, trying to find out what their needs are, see if they were going to school, if they were staying in school and seeing if there were any services we could provide,” said New Haven Fire Chief Allyn Wright.
So far, the community seems to be receptive to the different programs, especially those where top leaders are out in the neighborhoods. Pastor Troy McNulty says it goes a long way to build trust within the community and builds relationships.
Local
“For the residents to see the fire chief, the police chief, the heads of district, walking the blocks, not just the walking beats, but the leadership of the city walking the blocks and reaching out to the young people in the city, is giving people hope,” said McNulty, who frequently works with families who are victims of gun violence.
