HARTFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY
WEED & SEED PROGRAM
STOWE VILLAGE JOINT VENTURE AMONG
Hartford Housing Authority & The Hartford Police Department & the U.S. Attorney for the State of Connecticut
Preliminary (1998) EVALUATION PART I CRIME
Part I crime in Stowe Village continues to decrease. Based on incident-level crime data provided by the Hartford Police Department (HPD), 1997 marked the third consecutive year of 25 percent or higher percentage decreases in Part I crime. In addition, in 1997 the Part I crime per capita rate in Stowe Village dropped below the city-wide rate, a remarkable achievement given that in 1993 the Stowe Village rate was about 75 percent higher than the city-wide rate.
ARRESTS DOWN
In 1997, the number of drug arrests decreased in Stowe Village for the second year in a row, although the decline from 1996 to 1997 (9.6 percent) was much smaller than the decline from 1995 to 1996 (39.8 %). However, monthly drug arrest data for the first three months of 1998 suggest that there may be a recent increase in drug activity in Stowe Village and, especially, in the area adjacent to Stowe Village.
FROM THE START OF WEED & SEED
Since the start of Weed and Seed, there has been a steady 15 to 20 percent annual decline in Part I and II crime in Stowe Village. This decline follows a period prior to Weed and Seed when Part I and II crime increased. However, unlike the Part I rate, the Part I and II crime rate in Stowe Village is still significantly higher – about 60 percent higher in 1997 – than the city wide Part I and II rate, although the gap between the two rates has been decreasing. The vast majority of the difference in the Stowe Village and city-wide 1997 Part I and II crime rates can be explained by crimes involving sale or possession of illegal drugs.
NATIONAL COMPARISONS
Across the eight sites in the National Weed and Seed evaluation, Part I crime patterns varied widely, with Hartford achieving the largest decreases. In comparing the number of Part I crimes in the year prior to implementation of Weed and Seed to the second year of Weed and Seed, four target areas had double-digit percentage decreases (Stowe Village, 46%; Crawford-Roberts in Pittsburgh, 24 percent; North Manatee (FL), 18 percent; the Shreveport (LA) target area, 11 percent; and the Central District in Seattle, 10 percent).
One site (West Las Vegas) had a single – digit decrease (6 percent), and three target areas experienced increases in Part I crime (South Manatee, (FL)(, 2 percent; Meadows Village in Las Vegas, 9 percent; and Salt Lake City, 14 percent.
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