StemCell Therapy

The police departments number one priorityreducing gun violenceis being achieved and the crime stats prove it: Five homicides compared to seven last year, and a shining achievement compared to the states comparable big cities, where to date Hartford has 19 homicides and Bridgeport 18.

But would a diminishing of resources due to the ongoing state budget crisis put the brakes on that positive momentum?

No, and, yes. Possibly.

Those achievements, combined with a touch of low-grade anxiety about the resources to continue to advance them, emerged in a candid discussion at Tuesday nights regular meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners.

Commissioner Donald Walker asked about the departments plans for the continuing [state] fiscal crisis.

Mayor Harp is committed to not cutting public safety, Chief Anthony Campbell replied. He said the department is not anticipating the need to cut any officers.

However, if things dont change soon, I can see our going to zero overtime. Were not there yet and we hope and pray we dont, and we have a plan [in place] for that, he added.

That zero overtime plan would affect the configuration of the shifts and other deployments, but it should not affect public safety.

One area, where the states fiscal woes are already being felt: Project Longevity.

That project launched here in November 2012 by the city, the U.S. attorney, and the governor, identifies the small number of gang-related young men most involved in violence. It brings them to carefully choreographed call-ins to hear from law enforcement officials and community leaders. They hear a plea to stop the violence. Then they get a choice: Take advantage of immediate help in finding jobs, housing, medical care or earning degrees to straighten out their lives. Or go back to shooting in which case local, state and federal agents will come down on their entire groups to put them behind bars for decades under federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws. (Click here for a story on how the project helped fell one deadly gang.)

New Havens project has been successful. (An example was announced on Wednesday, with the arrests of six alleged New Haven gang members, affiliated with the Goodrich Street Boys gang, on federal attempted murder, firearms, narcotics, and racketeering charges.)

Assistant Chief Archie Generoso, who also presented at the commissioners meeting, attributed much of the reduction in gun violence to the project: Between 2003 and 2012 there were 126 shootings. However, since the advent of Project Longevity in November 2012, only 64 shootings have been logged in. We cut it in half, said Generoso.

That was one reason why already eight cities have come to study New Havens approach, including, Generoso added, officials from Honduras arriving in town next week for that purpose.

The anxiety centered on the paycheck of the exceptional former police officer who runs Project Longevity, Stacy Spell. Only he and an assistant are paid all the other officers who participate do it on their own time and they are paid by the cash-strapped and budget-stalled state. The state faces a $5-plus billion two-year deficit and is already more than a month late in trying to pass a new budget.

He hasnt received a pay check in a month, due to the state budget stalemate, Generoso reported.

Commissioner Stephen Garcia asked how the department is supporting Spell.

Stacy is doing an unbelievable job, said Genoroso.

Despite not being paid, Chief Campbell added.

Commission Chair Anthony Dawson said he has some ideas to address the situation, which will be discussed at another time.

The chiefs also reported that 29 new officers recently completed their field training and are ready to be deployed. They will reduce our overtime by $15,000 a day, said Campbell.

After presenting the crime stats, Generoso concluded: Well not be satisfied until zero [homicides]. We are bucking national trends. Our numbers are going down, while nationally the numbers are going up. Were making it happen. Its due to the support from you, the alders, the mayor. They have not cut back on money and resources. This city invests in the safety of its citizens.

Following the tragic shooting of 14-year-old Tyriek Keyes on July 16, not only are more police patrolling Newhallville. There are more crews of tree-trimmers at work there as well.

That news emerged in a report by Assistant Chief Generoso at Tuesday nights commissioners meeting.

For the last eight days two of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Trees four contract tree-trimming crews have been assigned to the streets around the Lincoln-Bassett School, the neighborhood where Tyriek was killed.

While tree-trimming is part of an ongoing citywide program, the Department Director Rebecca Bombero said that for the first time we did a ride-along with the police to scope some of their requested safety trim, which resulted in a larger scope of work. The focus was in Newhallville around Lincoln Bassett.

That scope includes raising trees to improve site lines for cameras, traffic signals, and lighting, she added.

At Tuesday nights meeting, Assistant Chief Generoso reported to the commissioners that the stepped up police patrolling was being accompanied by this important arboreal work, with an aim to cut some of the trees around some of our cameras and lights.

The city is in the process of putting up more cameras in Newhallville and elsewhere, he added. Cutting trees that obscure lights and camera views is work Generoso described as essential to enhance safety and crime-solving.

He said that officers indicated areas where the branch trimming is a priority and that the parks and rec crews should be finishing up in Newhallville this week.

Bombero wrote in an email that her department has over 2,000 open issues, or trimming requests, at any given time. The staff to respond to all that consists of two internal crews, along with contract crews funded through a capital allocation centered around hurricane season.

This year the funding has allowed for four crew, with the priorities being immediate hazards, safety trimming as requested by police, engineering or [the department of] Transportation, Traffic & Parking for site lines and secruity and then by level of hazard by date reported, she wrote.

Call your state legislators. They are doing nothing but waiting to be told how to vote. They demand more and higher taxes. They dont cut costs. They are bankrupt of ideas and they are hiding from this entire budget issue. This issue has been around since fxxking February - It is not August. The budget is late, the excuses are lame and plentiful. Meanwhile, they all pose for selfies, go live and one even went to Boston for a conference on Being Ready from the Inside. lol - you just cant make this stuff up. Meanwhile, this program suffers; schools are laying off teachers and others; not one community can do anything. Even well run East Haven has a hiring and spending freeze on except for the basic stuff.

The stupidity of not having a budget this late in the yar; of operating on a day to day basis by executive order, causing non-profits to close, of homeless shelters for women and kids to close - these nitwits couldnt even pass a mini-budget while they traveled and played golf. Oh, and collected their nice paychecks, perks and accumulated their retirement benefits. Amazing.

Read more from the original source:
State Budget Woes Threaten Project Longevity - New Haven Independent

This entry was posted on August 9, 2017 at 10:41 pm and is filed under Longevity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |