NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:  Friday, January 7,  2005
Contacts:  Billie Scruse, Press Secretary to Mayor Eddie Perez, (860) 543-8500 or
Nancy Mulroy, Spokeswoman, Hartford Police Department, (860) 543-8746.

CITY OF HARTFORD EXPERIENCES DOUBLE DIGIT DECREASE IN VIOLENT CRIME IN 2004.

(Hartford) - End of the year crime statistics for 2004, released today by the city of Hartford, showed a double digit reduction in violent crime across the city.  The statistics, compiled by the Hartford Police Department's Crime Analysis Division, indicate a more than 61% decrease in murder, the highest rate of reduction and lowest number of murders in more than a decade.  Also posting double digit decreases were rape (-21.6%); robbery (-13.6%); and aggravated assault (-15.2%).  Total violent crime, or "Crimes Against Persons" was reported down by 15.6%.

Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez, in commenting on the decrease in violent crime said, "This is a tremendous tribute to the hard work by the men and women, uniform and civilian, and leadership of the Hartford Police Department, who worked with the support and involvement of our community, as exhibited in the success of the recent Youth Violence Initiative where the citizens, police, schools, and agencies such as Hartford Communities that Care, Men of Color, and the Greater Hartford African American Alliance came together to combat drug-related gun violence in the city.  It is through these types of initiatives that we gain success in reducing violent crime in our neighborhoods."

"Violent crime throughout 2004 remained significantly down because of focused policing and increased coordination between our patrol, investigations, and community response divisions, as well as  collaboration and support from the citizens we serve," said Hartford Police Chief Patrick J. Harnett.

In 2004  "Crimes Against Property", which includes burglary, larceny, and auto theft experienced an 11.5% increase.  "This is a concern that is being addressed," said Harnett.   A significant contributing factor to the increase in larcenies in Hartford, and in other Connecticut cities, is the theft of stolen license plates and registration inserts, which alone represent 46.5% of all larcenies. 

The focus in 2005 will be to continue efforts at reducing violent crime, as well as refining initiatives aimed at reducing crimes against property.  "Initiatives such as our auto theft detail, created in early December that successfully impacted auto theft throughout the city, resulting in 43.6% reduction in auto theft in the last 28 days of  2004, and the success of the Youth Violence Initiative, will be models that we will draw upon in our strategy to reduce crimes against property," said Harnett.  "Our efforts over the past year show that police do matter; that police working with the community can and does have a positive impact on reducing crime.  There is no reason to expect anything less in 2005." 

Total Larcenies for 2004 = 6,553
Larceny of Stolen License plates - 2,785 (42.5%)
Larceny of Insert Stickers - 261 (3.9%)
Plates and Inserts Combined - 3,046 (46%)

End.

Contact:   Nancy Mulroy, Public Information Officer, Hartford Police Department,  (860) 543-8746
Visit www.hartford.gov for more Hartford Police News
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