Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies
The purpose of the safe neighborhoods program is to improve public safety in selected urban neighborhoods (including public housing) with high rates of crime and drug trafficking, through increased police presence and crime prevention activities involving residents. The program is intended to concentrate resources on a safe neighborhoods project area, and may not be used for a citywide project (except the police overtime component). As used in sections 21a-274a-5 through 21a-274a-9, inclusive, of these regulations, the term "safe neighborhoods project area" means a single neighborhood within a municipality selected by the municipality to be eligible for a safe neighborhoods grant. A "single neighborhood" may include more than one traditional neighborhood, provided that all are contiguous along major sections of their boundaries, and share similar or related public safety concerns. The secretary of the Office of Policy and Management may, for good cause shown, and after completion of the first year of the grant, permit the municipality to expand its safe neighborhoods project area to include contiguous areas in which the crime rate has increased due to displacement from the safe neighborhoods project area. The secretary may also, for good cause shown, permit a municipality to use safe neighborhoods program grant funds to temporarily increase police presence in high crime areas outside the safe neighborhoods project area. This program is competitive, and not all applicants are assured of funding. The program contains the following components:
(1) New police officers may be hired by municipalities to increase police presence in their safe neighborhoods project areas. As an alternative, experienced officers may be used for project purposes, provided that they are replaced on a one-to-one basis in their regular assignments by the officers who were newly hired under the grant. Deployment and tactical use of these officers shall be at the discretion of the municipalities, but shall be within the safe neighborhoods project area's boundaries, except on a temporary basis as provided in this section;
(2) The officers hired under the safe neighborhoods program may be trained at the municipal police training council at no cost to the municipalities;
(3) Municipalities may establish police sub-stations within their safe neighborhoods project areas;
(4) Crime prevention activities, such as neighborhood crime watches, cleanups, senior citizen programs and positive youth development programs, may be established within safe neighborhoods project areas. These programs should involve neighborhood organizations and residents;
(5) Municipalities may develop programs offering small grants for physical improvements to homes, businesses and public spaces to increase public and private security within the safe neighborhoods project areas. These improvements may include such items as fencing, lighting or alarm systems; and
(6) Municipalities may hire officers through overtime to control the illegal use of firearms anywhere within their boundaries.
The secretary of the Office of Policy and Management may allocate funding among each of the foregoing components, including not funding one or more components, as he shall determine may be in the best interest of the safe neighborhoods program.
(Adopted effective January 31, 1994; Amended April 18, 1996)