After a shooting and two stabbings within walking distance of each other on Hawkins Street, Chief Gene Mascolo Thursday unveiled a plan as to how police will deal with crime in the neighborhood.
Among the chief’s ideas:
- Applying for federal stimulus money to hire another police officer
- Exploring the possibility of buying a police dog
- Applying to the U.S. Department of Justice “Project Safe Neighborhoods“ program
Mascolo’s comments came at Thursday’s Board of Aldermen meeting, after three residents complained about the rash of violence in Derby.
“We are doing a bunch of stuff out there. Our guys are working real hard out there. They are confronting this problem every day,” Mascolo told the residents. Article continues after the poll.
History of Violence
Derby had two shootings within nine days last summer, including one that took the life of a 25-year-old man who died on a sidewalk at the intersection of Seventh Street and Hawthorne Avenue.
This summer the violence has been concentrated further up Seventh Street at its intersection with Hawkins Street.
First, there was a stabbing near the intersection of Hawkins and Cottage streets in May. A house in the area was shot up a few hours later.
In June, a woman was shot in what police called a drive-by shooting at Seventh and Hawkins. She survived.
Then, earlier this month, a man was stabbed in the parking lot of Over the Hill Tavern. Police charged 19-year-old Derby resident Stephan Coney with the crime. He was also charged with the May stabbing. His court case is pending.
Enough Already
Three Derby residents who spoke to elected officials Thursday echoed the statements of residents the Valley Indy interviewed in June.
There’s a sense that the area known locally as “HALO” (Hawkins, Anson, Lafayette and Oak) is out of control, especially at night.
Two of the speakers live on Seventh Street.
“I’m raising grandchildren that I can’t let out of my house,” said resident Eileen Carroll Colwell. “It’s a terrible street.”
She relayed a story of getting up at 3 a.m. to see a woman outside crying.
“There’s a car there, and there’s a guy there and the guy’s beating on her,” Colwell said. “We can’t let our kids out. We can’t do anything outside of our house. It seems that nobody is doing anything to try to stop it.”
Geoffrey Martino urged officials to figure out the root cause of the problems in the neighborhood. Mayor Anthony Staffieri said a quality of life task force has been created.
“I understand there is a lot more police presence and you’re putting together a team, but that’s not going to last long,” Martino told the Board of Aldermen. “Several years ago, there was a plan — HALO. It may have been too ambitious, but it was a long-term plan. That’s what’s lacking now — something long range and that looks into the future.”
Derby resident Jim DiMartino doesn’t live in the Hawkins Street area, but he urged elected officials to do something.
“Our town is getting a bad name. It never used to be like this,” he said.
Police Response
Mascolo acknowledged an uptick in police calls from the Hawkins Street area, saying there had been 900 since January.
He said after the recent rash of violence, police officers have been more aggressive in motor vehicle enforcement in the neighborhood, which the chief called the “backbone of law enforcement.”
The idea is to weed out people who “shouldn’t be there,” Mascolo said. The traffic stops can sometimes turn up “contraband” in a vehicle and lead to an arrest.
“We find a reason to pull them over,” he said.
Click the video for more remarks from the chief.
Mascolo also said he is meeting next week with an official from the U.S. Department of Justice to talk about “Project Safe Neighborhoods.”
It’s a proven program that reduces gun and gang violence in neighborhoods. Part of its success comes from the fact the program creates focused partnership between local police, prosecutors, along with probation and parole officers.
Click here to download a case study on “Project Safe Neighborhoods.”
