Dear residents, New Haven, like cities around the country, has been experiencing elevated levels of violent crime. In fact, last month the FBI reported that nationwide homicides rose 30% from 2019 to 2020. Violence in our community has led to tragic consequences, increased the level of trauma experienced by so many members of our community and led to irreparable loss of life. I’m sure that you, like me, agree that public safety is our top priority and feel that we must do everything possible to keep all members of our community safe. There has been a lot of discussion nationwide as to what is leading to the rise in violent crime. Most analysis points to a mixture of things – the temporary halt at the height of the pandemic of many violence interruption programs that have historically been effective, the economic and mental health impacts of the pandemic leading to extreme stress, some deterioration of trust between community and police, and the dramatic increase of gun purchases. Here in New Haven, we are seeing a combination of sources of violence - some group and gang-related violence, some fights between individuals, some domestic violence incidents. It’s important for members of the public to understand that the overwhelming majority of the violent crime that we see is between people who know each other—these incidents are not random. Our team has been working since last summer to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to confront gun violence – through a combination of community policing, violence interruption programs, expansion of the use of technology, restructuring and better integrating our programs, and increasing resources to communities targeted at the roots of the problem. Three weeks ago, my administration and the Board of Alders created a new department—the Department of Community Resilience. This new department will oversee six interconnected areas (1) violence prevention (2) mental health (3) homelessness (4) community crisis response (5) re-entry support (6) harm reduction. And, two weeks ago we announced a new partnership with CT Against Gun Violence to help design our new Office of Violence Prevention. These challenges are interrelated, and our new office will help us approach them more holistically. The Office of Violence Prevention is one of several initiatives we’re taking to combat violent crime. The following are other steps we’re are taking to confront this challenge. Re-entry Welcome Center: In February of this year New Haven, through a partnership with project M.O.R.E. opened a re-entry welcome center. This one stop shop offers wrap around services, such as job training, counseling, housing, and substance abuse services for individuals re-entering the community. These services aim to reduce recidivism and keep individuals from re-entering a cycle of violence. Re-entry was a key component of President Joe Biden’s anti-gun violence proposal. 
Shooting Task Force: In June of this year the city of New Haven announced that the New Haven Police Department has reformed the shooting task force. By partnering with West Haven, East Haven, Hamden, Meriden, and Yale Police Departments as well as federal and state law enforcement partners the New Haven Police Department is able to more quickly identify linkages between shootings. This increased collaboration is already paying dividends and has led to arrests of shooters. Engaging Individuals at High Risk: The New Haven Police Department in collaboration with the Department of Justice has re-started Project Longevity and Project Safe Neighborhood call-ins. And the city’s Youth and Recreation Department expanded its’ Youth Connect Program. These programs are designed to bring in individuals known to be associated with violence. These evidence-based interventions were severely impacted by the pandemic but since early 2021 the city has significantly increased the frequency of these call ins when compared to normal times. Increased Youth Programing: As part of our “summer rest” the city of New Haven’s Youth and Recreation Department invested more than $1.5 million into summer youth programing. That programing included extended summer camps, more youth employment opportunities, a summer concert, and neighborhood pop-up events. President Joe Biden named youth engagement as a key area of focus in his plan to address violent crime. Increased Police Walking and Bicycle Beats: Through additional overtime, the New Haven Police Department increased the presence of officers in communities. There are more bicycle and walking beats in city neighborhoods than there were in 2020. More Street Outreach Workers: The city of New Haven has increased its’ investment into the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program. This program is led by a former Chief Probation Officer and employs returning citizens to engage directly with individuals at risk of violence. This year the city doubled the number of street outreach workers. Expansion of Cameras and Shot Spotter: The New Haven Police Department is actively pursuing expansion of the shot spotter system as well as expanding the number of cameras in the city. These will assist in faster response times and increased solve-rates. Rebuilding the Police Department: For several years the New Haven Police Department lost officers to surrounding communities faster than we could replace them. The city is working to rebuild the depart and fill the 70+ vacant positions. The city announced a new recruitment period beginning September 13 th – which will allow for a new academy class. But, new police classes take a long time – so the city is also hiring trained officers already serving in other communities.
It’s important to note that this list isn’t comprehensive. Our team is doing even more, and we can’t do this alone. We need members of the community to help as well by holding each other accountable and reporting information to help us solve crimes. If you have information on a crime, you can call our anonymous tip line: 1-866-888-TIPS (8477)
My team and I are committed to addressing this challenge and we will continue to find new and innovative ways to do so. Protecting the health and safety of our residents is and will always be my number one priority.
Always serving you,
Mayor Justin Elicker
New Haven, CT
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