Crime in Connecticut

The violent crime rate in Connecticut is 227 per 100,000 residents, compared to the national rate of 397 per 100,000 residents.[1]

In 2010, 78,386 property crimes and 10,057 violent crimes, including 130 murders and 583 rapes were reported in Connecticut.[2] In 2015, 73703 property crimes and 7925 violent crimes were reported.[3]

In 2014, Connecticut reported 236.9 violent crimes per 100,000 people; crime that year was at its lowest rate since 1974. Additionally, with a drop of approximately 6.7%, the state had the fourth highest crime-rate decrease nationally.[4]

Connecticut released its most recent Uniform Crime Report in 2017. According to this report, 8,186 violent crimes were committed that year. Of those, 105 were homicides, 831 were rapes, 2819 were robberies and 4431 were aggravated assaults.[5]

A summary of notable events related to crime in Connecticut.

• On July 23, 2007, a home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut resulted in the murder of three people. Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters were raped and murdered by the two invaders, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky. Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit, was beaten unconscious but survived.[6] The two perpetrators received death sentences in 2010 and 2012 respectively but were resentenced in 2015, when Connecticut abolished the death penalty. Steven Hayes was resentenced in 2016 to six life terms in prison. In 2017, Joshua Komisarjevsky and his lawyers filed a motion with the state Supreme Court for a new trial, claiming judicial errors during the pre-trial process.[7][8]

• On August 3, 2010, a mass shooting occurred at a beer distribution company in Manchester, Connecticut. 34-year-old former employee Omar Thornton fatally shot 8 coworkers and injured 2 others with a Ruger SR9 semi-automatic pistol. After hiding in an office, Thornton called 911 and told the operator that he was motivated by alleged racism he had experienced in the workplace. As police closed in, Thornton committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.[9]

• At approximately 9:30 a.m. on December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty school children and six school employees before committing suicide at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Lanza had murdered his mother, who worked in the school, prior to the shooting. This incident remains one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States, with the fourth-highest gunshot victim fatalities for a single shooting in U.S. history.[10]

Between 1616 and 2005, 126 people were sentenced to death and executed in Connecticut. In April 2012, Governor Dannel Malloy signed an order to abolish the death penalty; Connecticut was the 17th state in the nation to do so. Inmates formerly sentenced to death had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment without parole. Connecticut was the fifth state to abolish the death penalty between 2007 and 2012.[11]

According to a 2014 FBI Uniform Crime Report, the Connecticut cities with the most violent crimes were Bridgeport (1,338), New Haven (1,380) and Hartford (1,380). Possible reasons for the higher crime rates in these cities include their larger populations and widespread poverty.[12]

The top ten cities with the lowest crime rates in Connecticut as of 2018 are Weston, Kent, Sherman, Washington, Pomfret, Barkhamsted, Cornwall, Sharon, Ridgefield, and Salisbury.[13]

Connecticut has a state-level system that includes juvenile courts, detention centers, private facilities, and juvenile correctional facilities. After juveniles are released, they receive help from the Court Support Services Division of the Connecticut Judicial Branch and from the Department of Children and Family Services. Criminal statutes for juveniles and adults are the same. However, if the offender is under the age of 16, they will be sent to a juvenile detention center and transferred over to Adult Court once they turn 16. State assistance for juvenile offenders has a number of objectives: to lower the rate of repeat offending in the community, provide offender rehabilitation, and help offenders understand the consequences of their actions. Police officers who encounter juveniles breaking the law may warn them, talk to their parents, offer organizations that can provide them with assistance, and/or make an arrest. Underage offenders who are arrested must attend a hearing in front of a judge at a superior court who will decide whether or not to send them to a detention center.[14]

Connecticut has decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Anyone under the age of 21 caught with marijuana will have their driver's license suspended for 60 days. If found with less than ½ oz. (first offense), a $150 fine is imposed. However, subsequent offenders are fined $500. Between ½ - 4 oz., the first offense is one year of incarceration and a $1,000 fine. A second offense may be punishable by five years of incarceration and a $3,000 fine. Being caught with more than 4 oz. of marijuana results in five years of incarceration and a $2,000 fine. Second offenses carry a 10-year sentence and a $5,000 fine.

Connecticut residents with cancer, Crohn's disease, or HIV/AIDS may obtain a medical marijuana card. Medical marijuana must be grown in buildings that meet pharmaceutical industry standards.[15]

Cannabis with less than a 0.3% THC content (also known as hemp) and a higher cannabidiol content is legal for over-the-counter sale to adults over the age of 21 years old and can be found in some gas stations and head shops.

• Chilling Connecticut crimes, CT Post