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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

ARE WE SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING GUNS OFF OUR STREETS?

It is going to take more than just parading victims of gun crime at political events to curb the gun violence in our cities. It is going to take creative efforts and a real commitment to ending gun violence.

Locally, one of the most creative efforts to combat gun violence was created by our own Chief of Police while he was still an inspector with the Connecticut Chief States Attorney's Office. James Rovella gave birth to Hartford's Shooting Task Force when he was directed to "do something" about the gun violence in Hartford.

The results have been phenomenal , even though STF is a shadow of what it once was when Rovella put his initial team together. The original team was a great, and very effective, combination of local, State and Federal authorities working together in a unique partnership that produced very solid results. The reputation of "STF" quickly grew and people carrying illegal guns on our streets felt the results. Very few people, both criminals and law abiding Citizens alike, didn't recognize the initials "STF" and what they were doing on our streets.

A main part of that success is not only the law enforcement aspect, but the court system follow through and sending penalties that show we are serious about illegal guns and shootings on Hartford's streets Unfortunately that message from our State courts is not as strong as it used to be. Budget cuts are hurting everyone and that may be p[art of the reason, but it also seems as though there is a reluctance on the part of the States Attorney and the court to relinquish control of some of these cases to the Federal level for more severe attention.

Sources from both the State and Federal level familiar with the two Court systems have described a type of "turf war". Federal prosecutors are apparently more than willing to take on gun prosecutions that meet their thresholds, but the State courts are unwilling to make that transition or allow the cases to move forward federally. I am told that criminals are more fearful of the Federal system than they are of the State prosecutions with the main reason being the sentences. Apparently a person convicted under Federal law is required to serve 80% of their sentence, no deals , no second chances.

I tend to agree with that, since many of the people winding their way through our State courts seem to be frequent flyers with numerous felony arrests. If we are going to be serious about ridding our streets of illegal guns, more creative partnerships need to be created. A good start to that would be calling upon our Federal Government  to be real partners, not just talking heads at election time. The FBI, ATF, DEA, Homeland Security, US Marshall's. Hell, any Federal agency with powers of arrest that carry a badge and a gun should be part of a reconstituted STF.


We know most municipalities are stretched pretty thin with staffing and the State law enforcement is going to get worse before it gets better. But we don't want to get caught sending the message to criminals that their chances of getting caught are less likely, they need to know their odds of getting caught are better than ever.

Beefing up the Federal involvement would also serve another purpose. Federal agents making the arrests would enable the cases to go Federally right from the start. No turf wars, no jurisdictional bickering.  Federal prosecutions and Federal jail time right from the start. I'm pretty sure that is a message that would be taken seriously by our local criminals who have gotten used to terrorizing our neighborhoods with a slap on the wrist. I am pretty sure that local officers  could be "cross sworn" as Federal agents also allowing them to make Federal arrests

It would probably also serve the purpose of identifying the pipelines used for getting these guns on our streets with Federal agencies cooperating in the investigations and sharing information

It might be a novel idea, but it is also the creativity and "thinking outside the box" we need if we are going to be serious about gun violence

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Luke Bronin's own words- "being labeled a convicted felon is an unfair life sentence."

I think in Luke's world, hug a (gun toting) thug and giving a second chance is a better approach.

Personally, you Mr. Brookman, are spot on.

Anonymous said...

HPD must get tougher on the real problems, the real criminals, not the crap it's dealing with now

Anonymous said...

@10:38

You are one of those "deplorables" I'm afraid. Giving a non violent convicted felon a chance to fully reintegrate society is a win win all around. You my friend, in all probability, are an old grouch who yaps about everything negative. I know your kind.

Kevin, the way to reduce gun-related crime is to enact very restrictive gun laws. Everything else is a band aid approach. I have lived long enough to observe this approach works (study England and Australia) and our mischievous approach with our trusty lobby of NRA and Sportsmen associations resisting will mean unless we can crush the influence of these groups and pass real legislation, (we won't) the game will continue.

Consider that this bastard tramp orphan offspring of England is the most violent and roguish of all worldly nations.

Oh, can you tell that I have not an once of patriotism. I don't hide behind the flag and use it like use car salesmen.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

8:24am

All the gun laws we pass are not worth the paper they are printed on if they aren't enforced with serious penalties for breaking those laws

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

8:22am

I am not an expert, but I don't think you are really familiar with what HPD does day in and day out and the number of violent criminals and the number of guns thay take off our streets DAILY.Try attending a public Compstat to get a real version of how violent our City is and what is being done, you might be surprised to hear the efforts

Anonymous said...

12/14 at 8:22 am leave this country you giant turd!!! Go live in Australia or some other crappy country. If guns are the problem why is a country like Switzerland which mandates EVERY man 18 and older keep their military issued rifle for life, hell they have a national shooting day. And every man has to serve in the military. They have almost no crime! So it just shows that your ideas suck! I AM DEPLORABLE I come from a family that isn't broken, I was raised correctly with manors for all folks I interact with, respect for my elders and grew up hunting and enjoying guns! I have been shooting since I was 5, My whole family shoots together and we enjoy it! You know what I don't enjoy? Convicted felons getting second chances! That's why we have criminal sharks commiting the same crimes over and over!!! Because people like you enable and allow them to do it. Do you drive a Mr Softy ice cream truck all day? Are some of your favorite foods mushed? Extra soft so you can swallow them with you delicate snow flake pallet? It's easy to see you can't stomach putting a criminal miscreant where they belong behind bars where they can't hurt good human beings because you have ZERO backbone and love and interact with THUGS or simply because you ARE ONE, I have news for you! Pull your pants up and stay the hell out of the way and the deplorable men will do it, and it will be folks like us that make the streets safe again at night. Myself, my friends, my family have never broken the law with a firearm because we were raised correctly! Who are you to say any law should be made stricter against us?? The criminals don't follow the law you jack ass!! You want to see things get crazy in the streets? Let someone come tell me and the people like me I have to give up my guns, we literally will mop the streets with ignorants like you to protect our countries constitutional rights.

Anonymous said...

This has to be from Bronin's staff or himself, absolutely no question about it. Chicago has some of the nations toughest gun laws yet the highest gun related murders in the nation. Another clear reason to be thankful to President Elect Trump!!!

Anonymous said...

Amen

General Grievous said...


Enforcing federal gun laws has consequences. The feds could also come in and deport all the illegal aliens. Or come in and enforce federal marijuana laws. Or enforce any number of other flagrantly violated federal laws. I have no problem with all of that, selective law enforcement is close to tyranny, but others might.

Anonymous said...

@10:06

Why you sound like a lacky for the NRA. Why don't you grow a brain and use it. So you bring up the Swiss. It is a very small country. Highly educated and established in their own culture. They do have a tradition of all members of society to be armed because of the historic need of defense. Even then, they are due to modernize and dispense with that useless tradition. If a neighbor was to invade the Swiss Alps, they wouldn't trudge over the mountains.

So your argument is flawyed but you wouldn't understand this if it was written with Moses ink pen. There should be no place for the proliferation of arms they way this country allows. And I am ashamed particularly at most of American law enforcement who cry when one of their own is senselessly cut down. Yet, most refuse to acknowledge the need for much tougher regulations of guns. Most crimes are committed with stolen firearms that came from "law abiding" gun owners. Do the math, pug head.

So if law enforcement cannot see the simple but obvious solution and join with others to demand much more restrictive laws on ownership, then the blood of their own brothers and sisters are on their own hands.

And to you Kevin, I agree that enforcement is key but without much more effective legislation, the blame game will continue. The mothers will cry. The marketing arm of the arms industry, the NRA, will continue their foolish and untrue diatribe that a good guy with a gun will always stop a bad guy with a gun. All explictives deleted.

Anonymous said...

For so-called “PLRA inmates” (prisoners convicted after April 26, 1996, the effective date of
the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997(e)), how much good time they may
receive depends on whether they have earned or are pursuing a GED or high school diploma:
1. If the prisoner has earned or has made satisfactory progress toward earning a GED or
high school diploma, he can get a maximum of 54 days good time credit on each year
served. *This 54 days is still subject to the BOP’s creative math explained below, so
in reality is still only 47 days per year of the sentence imposed.*
2. If the prisoner has not earned or has not made satisfactory progress toward earning a
GED or high school diploma, he can get a maximum of just 42 days good time credit
on each year served. *This 42 days is still subject to the BOP’s creative math
explained below, so in reality fewer than 42 days per year may be credited.*

Alyssa said...

Sounds like your breaking news here, Kevin?? Hope Len Besthoff and Max Reiss are not too far behind? The Courant?

If you are announcing that the Feds are intervening in Hartford, then HALLELUJAH. It worked in the 90’s when there was a meeting of the minds between Mayor Peters, HPD, Hartford State’s Attorney Jim Thomas and a coalition of our neighborhoods. We don’t have that in the least right now. Just dysfunction exacerbated by Bronin’s poor reception. That Courant article by Ed Mahoney this past weekend should have clinched it for everyone. Absolutely stunning view of the gun/shooting insanity and immaturity going on within blocks of the North End. Those described are truly societal “deplorables”.

For years, we have heard about ongoing discord between the Hartford State’s Attorney’s office and HPD. The problems should have been resolved at a managerial level between the departments. As a resident, I don’t know who’s right – is it true that Shooting Task Force warrants or other HPD warrants are problematic and contain too many unknowns or confidential witnesses for prosecutors to proceed? Or, is State’s Attorney Hardy shy of going to court on gun matters because of her own trial record? I recall Jim Thomas regularly prosecuted cases himself. I have been asking city/neighborhood leaders and have also spoken publicly on multiple occasions, about demanding more accountability from both – STF and the Hartford State’s Attorney’s office. And what about Project Longevity?? Many of us have asked for reports and/or appearances by Gail Hardy or staff related to that effort locally. NADA.

If the Feds are coming to Hartford – that is FANTASTIC. I am going to encourage the City Council and its Public Safety Committee to discuss support for federal intervention at their next meeting. That, and a demand that the City and HPD focus on the a-holes who are graffitti’ing the South End. It looks like hell everywhere. What is that V E O tag and who is behind it?? They should be behind bars for a loonnnnnnggg time. AFTER they clean up their mess as part of a sentence. Bronin hired a blight manager, when those federal funds should have been spent on a vendor who could clean up the mess or for extra HPD hours to break the case and stop them NOW.

Again, thanks for this critical post, Kevin – let’s hope other media are not too far behind . . .

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

11:00am

Selective enforcement is just as bad as selective non-enforcement. Who decides which laws to pursue and which to overlook. A law is a law and if it is on the books, it should be enforced, if not then change the laws and get it off the books. I think right now the immediate need is to calm our streets, across the country , not just Hartford. That is the result of gun violence, I don't see a real problem with illegal immigration in Hartford and I don't see a real problem with Marijuana laws, although the drug trade is a big driver of our violent crime overall. If those laws get enforced as a result of other arrests, so be it.

Anonymous said...

11:13 am an armed society has worked for the Swiss for 120 years, why would you ever change what works?? Are you so stupid that you actually typed the quote you did?

"Most crimes are committed with guns stolen from law abiding gun owners"

Ok that makes sense then! Let's punish the gun owner who has a crime committed against him by passing laws against him when he's the victim???!!! You have got to have an elevator that's not going all the way to the top! It's apparent the Hartford school system failed you as well by not teaching you common senses.

By your logic if your car gets stolen and somebody crashes into something its your fault? Yes because you own the car!

Let me make it simpler for you. Put down the macaroni figure your gluing together and pay close attention. If you as a little child "figureativley or mentally in your case" steal a cookie from the cookie jar we should blame the owner of the jar for the crime???

There's no difference!!! Just the items being used. I have a novel idea! If you get caught stealing a firearm and you are a convicted felon WE CUT YOUR DAMN HAND OFF!!!!

You must have some real winners in your family, must be nice to have Christmas dinner at a correctional facility. Let me catch some turd stealing at my home or property. It's not gonna go well, and unfortunately it will be a win for the armed home owners that are tired of thug animals doing what ever they want

Pastor Pablo said...

You want crime to stop make it a requirement that all people that work in hartford will have to live in hartford you'll see a drastic change then there's zero crime in Brooklyn NY now because of gentrification remember the Alamo

Anonymous said...

With the street code so prevelant in urban cities such as Hartford it is difficult to make and prosecute cases. The recent Rashad Moon trial is a prime example. Victims and witnesses do not want to put anything on paper to avoid being labeled a snitch, even killed. So yes, measures are taken to protect witnesses in an attempt to bring a shooter to justice. If it goes to trial, problems absolutely arise. I don't think you can blame the police for trying to bring justice and I don't think by any means you can blame Gail Hardy, come trial time witnesses go into hiding and refuse to sit on the stand and talk. It's like your damned if you do and damned if you don't.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

Pastor Pablo

WHAT?Are you for real?

Anonymous said...

You mention alll that yet get tough on Graffiti LOL.....yah, ok. What planet are you from?

Alyssa said...

6:58 pm
You're right. Left out a sentence or two when I edited my comment. Per Brookman's post, what if federal arresting powers WERE conferred upon Hartford officers. He called it "cross sworn". Maybe the graffiti hacks wouldn't just end up in Community Court but do some REAL time. Tx.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

Real time for graffitti? i think community court is just fine for that

Ret. Nelson Bronin Commercial said...

Kevin, have you heard about the city not making required contribution to the pension fund this week? Any truth to that? Any idea what's going on? Did the city run out of money?

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

11:06pm

Yes it is true. I will be posting more tomorrow

Anonymous said...

We can always count on you Mr. Brookman. Thank you again and hope your health is good.

Anonymous said...

If the mayor does not want to make the pension contribution, then maybe every cop, fireman, and city yard employee should stop contributing to the city with a positive work ethic.
Dark days ahead ....

Very dark days ahead indeed....

BOLO Holton MIA said...

Kevin, we will only hear from you. What's going on?

Anonymous said...

@ 11:13 AM You made no sense you idiot. It is not the law abiding citizens fault that a repeat offender broke into their house and stole a firearm and then used it to kill an officer or another individual. Geez you are very stupid. At the end of the day as long as this country keeps catering to the criminal element crime will continue to run rampant. What is needed is strickter penalities for the criminals. Something that will deter them from committing a crime. But they know they will only get a slap in the wrist. So what is going to stop them from committing crimes? Longer jail sentence, harsher penalties. So keep your mouth shut. I say you kill a cop, you should dry for it!

Anonymous said...

Question is if Hartford PD is serious about fighting crime, or police officers serious about sitting in their cars, texting, browsing the Internet and watching committed crimes from a distance.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

9:37am

I might suggest you attend the next public Compstat next Thursday and get a better understanding of what actually goes on at HPD and what a violent City we are. it might surprise you and you can actually speak with some knowledge

Anonymous said...

Did we just go through HOMICIDE #4 in Hartford? All in just one month. Hartford will break a record if it continues this way.
HPD doesn't do its job. Read anonymous comments on 1/3 at 9:37AM, that's the real face of HPD.

Anonymous said...

Kevin, to your question "ARE WE SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING GUNS OFF OUR STREETS?"
The answer is NO, we are not serious, HARTFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT IS NOT SERIOUS.

Anonymous said...

Not serious how? The Mayor's campaign theme was to get illegal guns off the street and hire more cops.....has he remotely done either?

Now Serving #5 said...

No contract- no supporting mayor & council- NO work.