City Poised To Offer Rewards In Crime Fight

June 20, 2006
By DANIEL E. GOREN, Courant Staff Writer

In an effort to spark more help from the community in curbing gun violence, the city plans to offer a $2,500 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone who used a firearm in a homicide or felony in Hartford.

Since May 24, a rash of shootings has left three people dead and more than 20 injured.

"To solve some of these homicides, good detective work is not going to do it alone," Mayor Eddie A. Perez said Monday. "We need more cooperation from the public."

The city council will hold a special meeting at noon Wednesday to vote on establishing the program, which will run until Dec. 31. The city is setting aside $50,000 to be used for the rewards.

Councilman Calixto Torres, chairman of the council's public safety committee, was instrumental in pushing for the reward plan, Perez said.

"We want to be able to provide our police department with as many tools as possible to help close some of these cases and possibly to prevent others from occurring," Torres said. "We want people to think about it twice, because the person who turns them in could be their own friend."

Anyone with information about a homicide or felony involving a gun can call a tip hot line: 860-525-GUNS. The call is confidential and the state's witness protection program will be offered to anyone who needs it, Perez said.