Crime strongly on downswing

Over last 3 years, major crimes fell, but sexual assaults on the rise

MIDDLETOWN — The instances of major crimes in the city overall are on the decline during the last three years, amid an uptick in sexual assaults and slight rise in car thefts, according to the state’s unified crime reporting data.

Statistics from 2017 and 2016 were taken from the annual Crime in Connecticut report. This information is collected by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Crimes Analysis Unit.

All of these figures represent reported crimes, not convictions.

Figures from 2018, provided by Middletown Police Lt. Heather Desmond, are a rough estimate by the department.

Reports are submitted monthly to the state, and it’s not uncommon for state personnel to detect errors or reclassify incidents, she said.

The eight major crimes reported to the FBI in the United States are murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, car thefts and arson, according to the FBI.

Overall, violent crime is decreasing in Connecticut, the FBI said.

However, during this threeyear period, among violent crimes in Middletown, rape is on the rise: from five to six incidents between 2016 and 2017 (up 20 percent), and from six to 14 incidents from 2017 to 2018 (a 133 percent increase).

Motor vehicle thefts (classified as a major crime) declined from 2016 to 2017 by 17.2 percent (87 to 72), and then rose 6.9 percent from 72 in 2017 to 77 in 2018.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why crime will fluctuate year to year, Middletown Police Lt. Heather Desmond said Tuesday afternoon.

“One factor is the diligent work of officers in the Middletown Police Department. It’s a community effort,” she said.

Rises and declines may be a trend, or due to outside influences, such as the economy, new city programs, weather, the way officers are responding to calls, whether a crime is reported or not, and/or new methods of training and tools, she said.

For instance, during winter storms, domestic disturbance calls may increase because people are snowed in together, Desmond said. Heat waves have similar effects on crimes.

Other major crime percentage differences from 2017 to 2018 are: robberies, down 22 percent; assaults, down 67.1 percent; burglaries, down 26.5 percent; and larcenies, down 20.5 percent.

Those same figures, from 2016 to 2017, show robberies down 61 percent, assaults down 16.7 percent, burglaries down 37.6 percent and larcenies down 19.3 percent.

No arsons were reported from 2016 to 2018.

Over this three-year period, there was a single homicide in 2018. Cornel Myers, of Middletown, was charged with murder and first-degree burglary and criminal trespass in connection to a Sept. 8 death of a woman in the Westfield portion of the city. Myers is being held in lieu of $2 million bail and is expected back in court March 5.

The Hartford Courant reported the victim is Hartford

teacher Danielle Fasciocco.

Crime in 2018

According to 2018 figures from city police, there were 669 domestic incidents, 470 larcenies, 403 narcotics complaints, 320 loud noise complaints, 261 intoxicated people calls, 181 incidents of vandalism, 173 incidents of suicide threats, 158 pistol permit violations, 108 instances of fraud, 104 DUIs, 91 overdoses, 86 simple assaults, 86 burglaries, 77 stolen cars (of which 10 were recovered), 66 untimely deaths, 61 shoplifters, 26 suicides/attempts, 25 gunshot complaints, 18 weapons laws violations, 15 aggravated assaults (with injuries), 14 animal cruelty reports, 14 sexual assaults, 13 domestics with injuries, 11 robberies, six indecent exposures, two bomb threats, two water rescues, one escaped person, one “jumper” and one prowler.

Crime in 2017

In 2017, there were 591 larcenies, 72 motor vehicle thefts, 68 burglaries, 35 aggravated assaults, nine robberies and six rapes, according to the report. These incidents constitute a total loss of $1.13 million, of which $309,378 was recovered, according to the report.

In all, 13 of the aggravated assaults were committed with a knife or cutting instrument, 11 with another dangerous weapon, 10 by “strong arm” (hands, feet, ect.) and one with a firearm.

Other offenses are broken out into 595 simple assaults and 16 officer assaults.

Of the robberies, three occurred at “miscellaneous” locations, two took place at “other” businesses, one on a highway/street, one at a home, and one each at a gas station and convenience store.

Twenty-nine burglaries took place at a residence during the day, and 18 at a residence in the evening. Of those, 37 were forcible entries and 31 were unlawful entries without the use of force.

There were 167 items stolen from motor vehicles, 112 shoplifting incidents, 69 items taken from buildings, 27 stolen bicycles, 27 car parts, two from coin-operated machines, one purse snatching and 185 other crimes. All these larcenies represent a total loss of $136,845.

Figures on 2017 crimes indicate 1,454 were committed by an adult and 61 by minors; 1,048 by males and 437 by females, according to the data. When broken down by race, 949 suspects identified themselves as white, 534 as black, six as Asian and 26 as unknown.

Crime in 2016

In 2016, there were 732 larcenies, 109 burglaries, 87 motor vehicle thefts, 42 aggravated assaults, 23 robberies and five rapes. These incidents constitute a total loss valued of $1.3 million, of which $343,972 was recovered.

In all, 20 of the aggravated assaults were committed by strong arm, 14 with a knife or cutting instrument, seven with another dangerous weapon and one with a firearm.

Other offenses are broken out into 693 simple assaults and 10 officer assaults.

Of the robberies, eight were on a highway/street, four each took place at a home and “miscellaneous” location, two each at gas stations, convenience stores and banks, with one classified as an “other business.”

Thirty-nine home burglaries took place during the day and 30 in the evening. Of those, 70 were forcible entries, 38 unlawful entry without force, and one attempt at forcible entry.

For larcenies, there were 131 items taken from buildings, 127 shoplifting incidents, 111 items stolen from motor vehicles, 49 stolen bicycles, 44 stolen car parts, and 267 other crimes. These represent a total loss of $184,139.

Of these 2016 crimes, 1,603 were committed by an adult and 89 by a minor; 1,211 by males and 481 by females, according to the data. When broken down by race, 988 suspects identified themselves as white, 481 as black, two as Asian and 56 as unknown.

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