Summer crime in Hartford hits 20-year low

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Crime in Hartford is down, according to the mayor and interim police chief.

There have been 14 murders in the city this year, a significant drop compared to the same time last year.

“2024 is on track to have the fewest shootings in the city of Hartford in nearly two decades,” Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said.

He said this has also been the safest summer during that time.

According to the mayor, homicides are down 53% over last year. The number of shooting victims is down 33% this year, and assaults have dropped about 36% from this time two years ago.

“With gang and group violence, that’s where a city can really make progress in moving the needle and keeping the city safe,”Arulampalam said.

The mayor said that by working with federal agents, authorities have interrupted organized crime and the city has gotten hundreds of illegal guns off the streets.

“We’ve seized about 300 this year, and continue to go after those firearms which would be used otherwise in shootings in this city,” he said.

University of Connecticut students in the city said they feel both safe and unsafe;

“I feel really safe,” Shayla Singleton said. “When I’m walking with my friends, I feel fine and safe to walk around.”

Setareah Mafaher said she feels that walking by herself isn’t safe.

“Like one the first day of school, I got followed for like two blocks,” Mafaher said.

The city credits the crime center and city camera network with having an impact on crime.

“When video evidence is present in a shooting, there’s a 442% increase in the solvability of that shooting,” Hartford Police Sgt. Chris Mastroianni said.

Kenny Howell, the interim police chief, started up walk beat patrols again this summer and said they’ve already made a difference in those neighborhoods.

“What they do every day could have stopped crime, but we just can’t measure it,” he said.

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