Meriden Shares Federal Anti-Violence Grant

Meriden will receive $42,000 from the U.S. Dept. of Justice (USDOJ) to help reduce violent crime, Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced Thursday.

Meriden was chosen along with 21 other cities and towns with the highest rates of violent crime in the state from 2007 through 2009. Together, those municipalities account for 82 percent of Connecticut’s violent crime and 75 percent of the inmates in the Department of Corrections, according to the governor’s statement.

The 22 municipalities will share a $915,000 federal grant to coordinate anti-violence efforts. The grant prioritizes municipal efforts to coordinate violent crime response across multiple jurisdictions, the statement said.

Each of the cities and towns will receive between $40,000 and $45,000 for crime prevention, including community education and youth crime intervention; law enforcement; and technical assistance, training and equipment. In addition, the same municipalities will receive direct grants from the USDOJ later this year ranging from $10,000 to $271,000.

The Connecticut Office of Policy and Management has asked each municipality to use the money from the shared grant to develop an anti-violence collaboration involving federal, state and local agencies, similar to efforts emerging in New Haven and Hartford. Such collaboration has included legal, judicial and law enforcement personnel; clergy and other community leaders; mental health and substance abuse professionals; and victim advocates.

“While crime is at record lows in our state, these grants will help us bolster local police department efforts to engage in a coordinated and collaborative response to criminal activity that frequently crosses city and town borders,” Malloy said.  “Funding will be used to help sustain law enforcement and public safety services, particularly during the summer months when these critical public safety initiatives are needed most.”

The other towns sharing in the grant are:

Bridgeport - $45,000
Bristol - $42,000
Danbury - $40,000
East Hartford - $42,000
Hamden - $40,000
Hartford - $45,000
Manchester - $40,000
Middletown - $40,000
Milford - $40,000
New Britain - $42,000
New Haven - $45,000
New London - $42,000
Norwalk - $42,000
Norwich - $42,000
Stamford - $42,000
Stratford - $40,000
Torrington - $40,000
Waterbury - $42,000
West Hartford - $40,000
West Haven - $42,000
Willimantic - $40,000