Connecticut Local Politics

The FBI has ranked Connecticut among the dozen safest states, according to a new report:

Statistics from the FBI show Connecticut ranks among the dozen safest states in the U.S., with a below-average number of all types of crime except robberies, according to a new report compiled by state officials.
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The report shows “Connecticut has a criminal justice system that already works pretty well,” said state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee. (Lowe)

So, that’s interesting. Yay, us. But in January, the General Assembly will convene to consider tough-on-crime measures, including a three-strikes law and others.

The question to ask: are we safe? Well, relatively so, the report seems to be saying. At least, we are on average safer than most other states in the nation. But do we feel safe? Obviously not.

“Ask Dr. Petit if he thinks Connecticut is safe,” [House Minority Leader Larry Cafero] said.

Right, that’s why we’re interested. It’s that places that are supposed to be safe suddenly aren’t. There are terrifying killers and rapists out on parole living there. It’s not about places already considered unsafe still being that way. It’s easy to dismiss that as someone else’s problem.

Cafero’s question is really an impossible one. Is Cheshire safe? Consider. But then ask: Is Darien safe? Is Salem? Is Hartford? Is Waterbury? New Haven? Bridgeport? Litchfield? The answer varies depending on where you are, and even in the best cases we’re just talking about a low rate of crime, not a lack of it. So is Connecticut safe? Any answer is meaningless without more information.

Is your street safe? The new report suggests it might be (depending on where your street is, at any rate), at least as safe as anywhere inhabited by humans can be. If not, will a three strikes law, parole bans, more prisons and whatever else they’re going to be considering in Hartford this January make you any safer? Is there a point past which tough-on-crime legislation fails, and we start to either need a different sort of legislation or something beyond legislation and government altogether?

At any rate, the upshot seems to be that Connecticut has enough places where crime is lower, according to the FBI, to skew our statistics higher than most of the rest of the country. But somehow I don’t feel any better.

Source
Lowe, Zach. “Connecticut ranks among nation’s safest.” Stamford Advocate 12 December, 2007.