In a state with one of the lowest crime rates in the country, Republican leaders of the Connecticut General Assembly are making a major issue of crime a year before the next General Assembly elections. Democrats, who outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one in the Assembly, accuse the GOP of misrepresenting crime data and trying to scare voters.
In response to concerns raised by some police chiefs about crimes committed by teenagers who are repeat offenders, Republican leaders released a series of anti-crime proposals last month that include making it easier to move some juveniles facing charges into the adult justice system. They also propose eliminating some restrictions put on police officers a year ago in reaction to the killing of George Floyd.
“Connecticut remains one of the safest states in the country,” said State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, who co-chairs the Judiciary Committee, in a statement about the GOP proposal. “Crime has decreased over the past several years because of our approach to be smart on crime, not reactive. While some of the proposals offered by state Senate Republicans require further study and research, others will reverse common-sense policy and move our state backward.”
Stafstrom join us on And Another Thing. Along with other Democrats, he points to statistics showing overall decreases in violent crime in Connecticut.
Republicans insist the figures need closer examination. “The problem is actually the presentation to begin with in that there are portions of it that I don’t think are accurate,’’ said State Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Cheshire, who’s the leading Republican member of the Judiciary Committee and also joins us on And Another Thing. “We should be talking about juvenile auto thefts. … We agree that the amount of motor vehicle thefts in total has decreased, but it has substantially increased for juveniles. In 2010, 21% of the arrests for motor vehicle thefts were for juveniles. In 2019, it was 36%. At the same time, as we heard, the total amount of motor vehicle thefts has decreased.’'
