Sen. Berthel Renews Call to Address Root Causes of CT Crime Amid Rise in Unsolved Cases

September 28, 2022

Renews Call with GOP Leaders to Address Root Causes of Crime

 

State Sen. Eric Berthel (R-Watertown) released the following statement in response to state crime data released this week:

 

“My consituents do not feel safe, and this is the reality that Connecticut families are facing. There are certain statistics from this week’s press conference that were dubiously missing. Homicides in Hartford and New Haven are at record highs. Closer to home, more people are driving recklessly, and traffic fatalities have thus increased. Car thefts, too, have increased by 1,500 over a two-year period. Of these car thefts, almost all of them, 92 percent, are unsolved.

 

“This is not fearmongering and is reality. Violent offenses like rape and murder are alarmingly also going unsolved at a rate of 59 percent, meaning that the perpetrator remains a threat to our safety. It is important to note that this is not the fault of our law enforcement, who are doing their jobs as best as they can. I joined my Republican colleagues last year to introduce a comprehensive plan to prevent crime, enable law enforcement to do their jobs proactively and provide opportunities to young people for well-paying careers instead of crime.

 

“This package, ‘A Better Way to a Safer Connecticut,’ was the result of many meetings with police, community leaders, advocates and public defenders to determine the underlying factors of this crime surge. Unfortunately, Democrat colleagues widely reject this proposal, which leads us to where we are today. Safety is the most basic function that a government can provide for people. I will continue my work to restore it for Connecticut families,” said Sen. Berthel.

 

The Senate Republican plan, rejected by CT Democrats, advocates for:

 

  • Intervention and Services. Support for community programs focused on trauma, truancy, mediation, and mentorship

 

  • Opportunity and Jobs.
    • Workforce Development – Path to Career programs to better connect young people to opportunities and careers including through apprenticeship program enhancements, access to financial aid, and information sharing on alternative paths to careers.
    • Pipeline for CT’s Future program with schools and local businesses to provide direct employment opportunities for Connecticut youth and promote entrepreneurship among high school students.
    • Summer jobs program to give youth the ability to know where their summer employment will be, to select a field of interest to them, and to have a known source of stable income in the summer months.
    • Vocational program recruitment to ensure Connecticut’s vocational-technical high schools are within reach for youth in urban communities and are being discussed with students at an early age.

 

  • Safe Housing. Safe housing policies including ending hidden ownership, studying the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program to evaluate any disparate impacts the program may have on the development of at-risk children and youth or families, and establishing a housing authority resident quality of life improvement grant program.

 

  • Law Enforcement Recruitment & Community Relationships
    • Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Pipeline Pilot. A pilot program involving local universities with the goal of recruiting individuals to pursue law enforcement careers at the state and local level.
    • Expand Explorer Programs. Expanding successful “explorer” programs by creating a high school elective program focused on learning about law enforcement in which a student can earn credit to graduate. These programs have been successful in multiple communities in building interaction and involvement with young people and officers to build better community relationships.

 

  • Law Enforcement Support
    • Funding for Social/Data Intelligence. Investigations and proactive policing have become very much data driven and intelligence driven in recent years. Social media and online data can help officers prevent crime before situations escalate. This proposal seeks to ensure funding is available to assist police departments in budgeting for the modernization of intelligence tools.
    • Targeted revisions to the 2020 police bill to refine the legislation, while preserving its core intended goals to hold bad actors accountable, without having a chilling effect on proactive policing.

Read the Senate Republicans’ plan at SaferCT.com.