GLASTONBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — As the crime rate continues to rise and become more violent with carjackings and abductions, the anger and frustration among people in the Greater Hartford area continue to rise as well.
Safe Streets CT held a meeting in Glastonbury Wednesday night about the escalating crime as it continues to grow bolder. Thieves broke into one woman’s home, garage and cars while her family was sleeping. She doesn’t want to be identified, but she was at the meeting because she wants to make sure her story is told along with the other victims.
“It’s one thing to break into somebody’s car parked in the driveway but when they break into your home, it’s just a different level of criminality. If one of my teenage sons had just come home and happened upon the situation might they too have been forcibly carjacked? Might they too have been shot at like one of our other residents in town?”
It was a very angry crowd and they weren’t just there from Glastonbury, where the meeting was being held. Attendees came from Wethersfield to West Hartford, from Rocky Hill to Meriden, where they have had broad daylight carjackings to a woman who was just abducted over the weekend. They are trying to get the crime to stop.
“What we really need them to do is call a special session and that’s why we have started a petition,” said Rocky Hill Mayor Lisa Marotta.
The petition will be available on social media, online and at town offices around the Greater Hartford area. They want lawmakers to make real change now and stop the escalation.
“We are seeing a lot of predatory behavior and what worries me is we do not have the tools we need as police officers to engage and do a proper investigation arrest and conviction,” said Jay Kehoe, Marlborough director of public safety.
“Accountability for young criminals and intervention, we need intervention so that young criminals don’t become adult criminals that become adult prisoners,” said John Porriello of Safe Streets CT.
“We are going to be going into a special session I’m sure about the governor’s executive orders, so if we can do that, do you think we could do it for the juvenile crime crisis that we’re going through,” said State Rep. Tom Delnicki.
Safe Streets CT has been holding meetings all summer long and gaining momentum. They are planning to hold another meeting the second week in October.
The Glastonbury Police Department is now providing an interactive police dashboard as a service to the community. The dashboard is to keep residents informed of crimes being reported in the town and police activity in their neighborhood.
The data on the dashboard will be updated twice per day. Some of the data includes incident locations while some locations may be redacted.
Click here to see the dashboard.