Roundup: 2 Teens Shot; Woman, 61, Injured In Purse-Snatching

This robbery must be fake news: Lauren Garrett has said it's safe to shop in Hamden.

Hamden is the new New Haven.

Meanwhile, news of teens being shot in New Haven is so common that it's not the lead story in the NHI, front page news in the New Haven Register, or the lead on WTNH Channel 8.

Sadly, but gratefully, most people will never be a victim of violent crime. Sadly, because having been a victim of violent crimes, one knows exactly how badly, how disturbed, angry, scared, frustrated, it leaves you, and then seems to never leave you. A single event, on a person who has never experienced such victimization, will create a series of conscious and subconscious permanent sensations, triggered by memories of conditions that occurred just prior to the event, during the event, during the assault, and after the event. Unless one has been a victim, there is no way possible to understand the injury. And that is something to be grateful for. That the numbers are not greater; that there are not hundreds of thousands of victims of crime. BUT.... thousands have. The families, friends, of murder victims, victims of sexual assault, robbery victims, burglary victims, suffer a different set of terror emotions, and helplessness sensations, accepting that there was nothing they could have done to help. To say there is no increase in crime; to just turn it all into statistics, is wrong. It never has measured the full effect on the people , the large numbers of people, who have been victimized, and changed for life, as the system does nothing to address the slow, and continuous change in all people, who are forced to live with this. Fearing for children, loved ones, knowing you are helpless to create the change needed. And worse knowing that the person elected to fulfill the oath of the Mayor's Office, will never abide by the legislated laws of the state that direct the use of enforcement, and correctional law. At a time when we need to increase and improve enforcement, we find ourselves with leaders who believe doing nothing , is the safest approach, for the success of their political futures. May 200 illegal motorcyclists, joined by dozens of noisy quad operators, make it to the neighborhoods, and streets of these elected helpless, and stay for an hour. (a curse)

Hamden's strip mall businesses along Dixwell should hire a security guard company to drive around the parking lots to discourage the mugging and carjacking attacks on older customers. And the Hamden PD needs to assign an officer to patrol the area to discourage this type of activity. I know it is a small group of mostly young men who are stealing cars and mugging folks around the suburban towns, but the more they get away with it and not caught, the more young people will be emboldened to participate in this activity influenced by their peers experiencing no real consequences. The tragedy of a young man shot and killed when his mother begged the criminal justice judicial system not to remove his ankle bracelet because she couldn't control his actions and he was being influenced by his peers to make bad choices, is making it clear that it's not always the parents fault. Sometimes young people do really stupid things, egged on by their friends, and parents need the juvenile justice system to help them get these kids back under control and to provide consequences, deterrence, and intensive therapy and in some cases custodial care from professionals who can provide the guidance and restrictions and counseling that these young people need before they harm anyone else or bring harm to themselves. The shootings in New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury and other cities and large towns in CT among young people needs to be addressed. In older hardened criminals it may be harder to get people to change their behaviors, but in young people we have a chance if we intervene early and often with therapy, intervention, mentors, and positive activities and alternative programming to keep our young people busy off the streets and away from negative influences.

Heather C: Many do get caught. However, the people of Connecticut voted for folks like Winfield and others who do not want those caught to face meaningful consequences. The cops catch them, but the judges let them out immediately to re-offend day after day. Incarcerated people don't rob people doing their shopping.

1644- if they are under 18 they shouldn't be incarcerated for non-violent crimes. But carjackers and muggers should not just be caught and released to their guardians again and again to reoffend. They need intensive therapy and possible custodial care in a facility with supervision, restrictions and consequences. The mother of one of these young men begged the juvenile court system to keep the ankle monitor on because she couldn't control his behavior, now he is dead. The juvenile justice system is not rehabilitating these young offenders and not providing the assistance they need to change their actions and pay restitution. Incarcerating these young offenders as adults will not solve the issue, it will only create more hardened criminals who when they complete their sentence will be released back out to society untreated. We need to overhaul our juvenile justice system to create conditions where these young people are given the support and treatment to and behavior modification to address their issues and where they are not allowed to fail. We need to support parents and families who are struggling with their children making bad choices and with bad peer influences, and who are mistakingly thinking it makes them tough or cool or respected and gives them street cred. If we don't intervene now, then these children will be lost to the adult criminal system when they turn 18, or when they harm someone, or they will end up dying due to their poor choices and lack of accountability for their actions.

Heather C: your comment indicates you are not familiar with Hamden's Magic Mile. The Plaza has security company mostly foot patrol, sometimes car patrol. The Mart has town police presence, usually one or 2 officers. Effectiveness can be debated, but not lack of presence.

Lagniappe- I shop there all the time and I almost never see security or police patrolling in the parking lots of the shopping plazas anywhere along that stretch.
Unlike the Lowe's and Walmart plazas on Route 80 where I see the security cameras and security team riding around in their vehicle all around the parking lots whenever I am there.
It may be that the security team and police assigned in that stretch of Hamden and the square footage involved is just too large for them to cover adequately to provide a visible presence and deterrent.
In either case the new town administration should work with the business and property owners to increase the security presence, even if temporarily, until this current spree of attacks on older customers has subsided.