NEW HAVEN, Conn. — In partnership with Connecticut Against Gun Violence (CAGV), the City of New Haven is conducting two citywide listening sessions about gun violence, seeking public input in developing a blueprint for the city's new Office of Violence Prevention.
Connecticut Against Gun Violence has been an advocacy group for approximately 30 years and its partnership with New Haven is the first of its kind for any city in Connecticut.
Mayor Justin Elicker (D-New Haven) says his administration identified a plethora of services and initiatives to confront violence in the city but there was not enough coordination.
“So, the Board of Alders approved the creation of an Office of Violence Prevention and now we're designing that office,” Elicker said.
So, New Haven hired CAGV for several reasons.
“They're doing a community engagement component and they are doing a lot of research on what other cities are doing,” said Elicker.
“We have conducted a series of listening sessions in some of the communities that are highest of highest impact with gun violence,” said Jeremy Stein, Executive Director of CAGV.
RELATED: Uptick in Hartford homicides results in Gun Control Advocacy organizations looking for change
Those sessions have so far been held in six New Haven neighborhoods and after the community input sessions, tonight and next Thursday, Connecticut Against Gun Violence will submit a plan for New Haven.
“While we're doing this in New Haven, we also think that it's important for the state to be involved in this as well which is why we are also advocating for a state-level office of violence prevention,” said Stein.
Another key component to curbing crime: 500 additional surveillance cameras that will be installed in New Haven over the next several years.
“One of the infrastructure challenges is we need fiber to connect to the camera because there is a lot of information that comes from the cameras and so we need that network,” said Elicker, who also noted that Hartford and New Haven, which both have many more cameras than New Haven, have said nearly every homicide they solve is with the assistance of cameras.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.