Chief Rilling on Keeping Crime Down in Norwalk

During the recent municipal election, when candidates from either major political party were asked what they would do about fighting crime, many said they would support a larger, tougher city police force, with more officers on the streets.

But before the most intense part of the campaign season began, Police Chief Harry W. Rilling said in an interview in mid-October that he didn't think that approach would be as effective as a softer one.

"Crime is driven by so many things," he said. "No one factor can be said to contribute [alone]." Opportunities for getting a job and available social programs are two factors, he said, and providing those things "has to be a whole community effort."

Rilling said he's seen studies that show "the least effective approach is a strong law-enforcement effort. The most effective approach is finding opportunities for young people."

"I think, across the country right now, you're seeing more of an effort to get after-school opportunities for young people so that they have structured time, as opposed to unstructured time," Rilling said. The Mayor's Summer Youth Employment program is very helpful toward that goal in Norwalk, the chief said.

"Hopefully, we'll have more grant money that has been earmarked for that," he said. The mentoring program in Norwalk is also helpful in eventually lowering the crime rate, he said.

When someone in Norwalk is on parole or probation, he said, police often "let them know we kind of know who they are," he said. Police tell them "we want you to integrate back into society, and we want you to succeed."

Some employers in Norwalk are "open to taking on such a person"—in other words, hiring them, he said, mentioning as a good example.

over the past two years, Rilling pointed out in a still earlier interview.

One reason crime has gone up in certain areas is that the number of people in younger age groups has gone up. Young people from 13 to 23 years old commit a large proportion of overall crime, he said.

Crime went up in the past when the Baby Boom generation vastly increased the numbers of 13- to 23-year-old youths. The same thing happened when that age group was again increased by the children of the Baby Boomers, and now the same thing is happening with the grandchildren, he said. "When you see that larger number, you can see crime generally going up."

The following table, based on FBI Uniform Crime Reports on the FBI website, shows Norwalk experienced a rise in numbers of violent crimes in 2008 and 2009, although the numbeers have come back down to 2007 levels. (The FBI website had no information about Norwalk for 2006. The years in the table below link to the FBI Web page where the information came from.)

Table 1: Violent crimes in Norwalk

Violent

Crime

Murder/

Manslaughter

Forcible

Rape

Aggravated

Assault

425

1

10

257

343

6

12

196

196

3

9

99

Jan-June 2011

171

2

11

100

The following tables compare Norwalk crime statistics with those of several other cities in Connecticut. The information comes from FBI Uniform Crime Reports, statistics available from the FBI website. The population figures are taken from the same report, using an FBI formula for estimating numbers of community residents. Note that the FBI cautions against comparing police departments based solely on its Uniform Crime Reports tables.

Table 2: 2009 Violent Crime

   2009

Popu-

lation      

Total Violent

Crime

Murder/

Man-

slaughter

For-

cible

Rape

Rob-

bery

Aggra-

vated

Assault

425

1

130

2

353

2

Bridgeport

1,527

12

Table 3: 2010 Violent Crime

2010

  Popu-

lation      

Total

Violent

Crime

Murder/

Man-

slaughter

For-

cible

Rape

Rob-

bery

Aggra-

vated

Assault

343

6

116

2

351

2

Bridgeport

1,412

22

The following comparison of violent crime rates and numbers from 2009 to 2010 shows that rates for most cities went down—but not by as steep a drop as Norwalk's.

Table 4: Comparison of Violent Crime: 2009-2010

2009 Total Violent Crime

Difference

in rate

'09 to '10

425

130

353

Bridgeport

1,527

Table 5: 2009 Property Crimes

   2009

Popu-

lation      

Total Property

Crime

Burg-

lary

Lar-

ceny

Motor

Vehicle

Theft

1,786

314

1,536

219

2,143

370

Bridgeport

5,615

1,276

Table 6: 2010 Property Crimes

   2010

Popu-

lation      

Total Property

Crime

Burg-

lary

Lar-

ceny

Motor

Vehicle

Theft

1,878

323

1,515

258

1,969

348

Bridgeport

4,683

1,448

The following table shows Norwalk property crime rising, and the tables above show that the rise is almost entirely due to larceny cases (not including burglaries, which went down). Among these cities, only Norwalk and New Haven showed an increase in crimes in 2010 over the year before.

Table 7: Comparison of Property Crime from 2009 to 2010

2009 Total Property Crime

Difference in rate:

'09 to '10

1,786

1,536

2,143

Bridgeport

5,615