State Rep. Greg Howard, along with House Republicans unveil Public Safety Initiatives

I, along with my House Republican colleagues held a news conference on Wednesday morning to outline their legislative proposals addressing Connecticut’s crime crisis. Lawmakers were also joined by victims and advocates to explain how the crisis has impacted them. You can view the entire news conference by clicking the image below.

Protecting the Public

The proposals presented at today’s news conference are segmented into three specific categories – Safe Streets, Victim’s Rights, and Supporting Law Enforcement.

Safe Streets

Accountability is needed in our state’s criminal justice system – particularly the juvenile court system. The plan proposes several changes to the classification of certain crimes, maximum detainment periods, monitoring mechanisms, and required reporting data in the event of an arrest.

Victim’s Rights

Those who have been victims of the crime crisis deserve adequate resources to assist their recovery efforts. The plan calls for additional funding to be allocated to the Office of the Victim Advocate and the establishment of a compensation fund to reimburse the cost to replace or fix damaged property.

Supporting Law Enforcement

After the passage of the “Police Accountability” law, which opened up police officers in Connecticut to frivolous lawsuits, local departments and the state police have reported morale issues. The plan calls to repeal certain sections of that law, which would help local departments procure additional resources and ensure officers are able to safely make traffic stops.

You can review the plan by clicking the image below.