The Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn.- Intensified efforts to curb violence in Hartford seem to be paying off with figures showing a dramatic drop in shootings in recent weeks.
New statistics released Tuesday by the Hartford Police Department show that the number of shootings on city streets has dropped significantly in the weeks since city police launched an initiative to cover certain neighborhoods with more patrols.
State troopers were called in to increase patrols, more uniformed and plainclothes officers were sent to the streets and special investigations into drug and gun trafficking were launched.
The number of shootings has dropped citywide since the initiative started in June and the decrease is very noticeable in the North End neighborhoods targeted by the initiative, according to department figures.
In the 28 days before June 25, there were 14 shootings in which 15 people were injured in that area, and three people were killed. In the 28 days preceding July 30, there were three shootings with three injured victims in the same area, and no homicides in those neighborhoods.
Hartford Police Chief Patrick J. Harnett credited the decrease not only to the neighborhoods initiative, but to officers walking the beats, working undercover and teaming up with state and federal officers.
“I think it’s been a real win-win: good for the police, but most of all, good for the people who live in the neighborhoods where the violence had been occurring,” Harnett said.
Information from: The Hartford Courant