Press Releases
03/24/2015
Gov. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Wyman Create Commission on Youth and Urban Violence
(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman today announced that they are forming a panel of experts and community leaders from a variety of backgrounds who will be charged with reviewing the sources and causes of youth violence in urban areas, as well as developing proposals that will further reduce the rate of violent crime.Recently released statistics show that today, overall crime in Connecticut is at a 48-year low. Since 2011, violent crime is down 36 percent statewide and criminal arrests have decreased by nearly 28 percent. Violent crime in the state's three largest cities has fallen 15 percent since 2008. Still, the Governor said there is more we can do to drop these rates even lower.
"Over the last four years, our initiatives have dramatically reduced crime in our state - to the lowest point in decades. Our methods are working," said Governor Malloy. "Thanks to the efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement and their partnerships with our communities, we are making progress. We are making smart decisions on reducing crime today, but there is further action we can take to deliver a brighter tomorrow, particularly within urban centers. We can both achieve accountability for violent offenders while also doing more to prevent that person from offending in the first place. To make even more progress, we must reduce the risk factors that lead some youth down the wrong path, so that we can ensure our neighborhoods remain safe and productive places to live."
The Governor's Commission on Youth and Urban Violence will identify risk factors that result in the incidence of violence in high-crime communities and recommend meaningful policies and evidence-based programs designed to reduce violence. Specifically, it will focus on violence prevention, and reducing or eliminating the risk factors of youth violence through the implementation of statewide, interagency policies.
"Young people are integral to building a strong, productive, and competitive state," said Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, who will chair the commission. "The Governor's commission will continue to move us in the right direction - towards safer neighborhoods and higher-functioning systems that support better outcomes for young people. All of us must be engaged in the work to reduce crime in Connecticut, and young people have a special role in shaping the very future of our communities and our economy."
The commission will be responsible for exploring how current policies relating to unemployment, access to high-quality behavioral healthcare, housing, juvenile justice, and school discipline impact the risk factors for youth violence. It will also explore the disparate impact of those policies and how they contribute to rates of violence in high-crime communities.
The Governor has appointed the following people to serve as members:
Nancy Wyman (Chair) - Lieutenant Governor, State of Connecticut
Natasha Pierre - State Victim Advocate, Office of the Victim Advocate
Scot Esdaile - President, NAACP Connecticut
Susan Storey - Chief Public Defender, Office of the Public Defender
Mike Lawlor - Under Secretary, Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division, Office of Policy and Management
Andrew Woods - Executive Director, Communities That Care
Jillian Knox - Coordinator of Victim Services, City of New Haven
Carleton Giles - Chairman, Board of Pardons and Paroles
Brent Peterkin - Statewide Coordinator, Project Longevity
Mark McKinney - Vice President, Health Equity and Health Policy, Saint Francis Hospital
Clayton Northgraves - Director of 911 Services, City of Hartford
Vernon Riddick - Chief, Waterbury Policy Department
Manuel Rivera - Superintendent, New London Public Schools
Megan Quattlebaum - Director, Yale Justice Collaboratory
Andrew Papachristos - Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Yale University
Karen Jarmoc - CEO, CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Judith Meyers - President, Child Health & Development Institute of Connecticut
Alice Forrester - Executive Director, Clifford Beers Clinic
Joe Carbone - President and CEO, The Workplace
Kim Shayo Buchanan - Visiting Professor of Law, UConn Law
Ryan Matthews - Manager of Community Programs and Development, Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters
David McGuire - Staff Attorney, ACLU Connecticut
Scott Jackson - Mayor, Town of Hamden; Incoming Under Secretary for Intergovernmental Policy, Office of Policy and Management
The Governor's Commission on Youth and Urban Violence anticipates holding its first meeting within the next several weeks, and will provide its final report to the Governor by the end of the year.
The announcement of the commission comes as Governor Malloy continues to advocate on behalf of a series of legislative "Second Chance Society" proposals he introduced last month, which implements policies to ensure nonviolent offenders reintegrate into society, become productive members of the economy, and reduce their risks of recidivism.
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