Crime and safety move front and center in Manchester mayoral race
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Aug. 15—With Manchester's primary election just five weeks away, the issues of crime and public safety once again are looming large in the Queen City.
A series of shootings in the city last month sparked accusations by her opponents, Victoria Sullivan and Rich Girard, that incumbent Mayor Joyce Craig is soft on crime.
Another shooting last week, on Amherst Street, stoked the claims. On Twitter, Sullivan wrote that Manchester has become an "epicenter for crime & chaos this summer" and blamed Craig's "failed leadership."
"It seems that while our city is in serious trouble, Mayor Craig is more interested in attending ribbon cutting ceremonies and test driving the new scooters downtown than doing the hard work of addressing the significant issues of our city," said Sullivan, a former state representative and assistant majority leader, during an interview.
Girard, a former at-large school board member and alderman, called the city's crime rates "alarmingly high."
"What's worse is that so much of the crime problem is self-inflicted," Girard said. "We have to take action on a number of fronts, not the least of which is making the changes needed to stop attracting criminal elements to the city."
Craig, who is in her second term, points to data released by the Manchester Police Department on July 14 — just before a stretch that saw seven people shot in six days — showing the number of gun crimes reported in Manchester in the first half of this year was down significantly, compared to a spike in those crimes during the same period last year.
"Working in collaboration with the men and women of the Manchester Police Department, we've seen a decrease in crime for the fifth year in a row," Craig said. "We've increased the police complement by 30 officers over the past three years, increased annual training from eight to 40 hours, and increased the number of foot patrols and overnight shifts."
By the numbers
As of July 16, 62 gun crimes had been reported in 2021, compared with 104 over the same period in 2020, 66 in 2019, 65 in 2018, 82 in 2017 and 84 in 2016.
The police department also said overall violent crime — which includes homicide, sexual assault, aggravated assault and robberies — was down from April through June. That was true in all categories except sexual assault.
However, the total number of violent crimes reported in the first six months of 2021 mirrors the previous two years.
A total of 317 violent crimes were reported from January through June of this year, compared with 319 in the same period of 2020 and 303 in 2019.
Manchester had one homicide in the first half of this year, compared with two in 2020 and three in 2019. The number of sexual assaults to date is comparable to the previous two years, with 35 reported in the first six months of 2021, 37 in 2020 and 34 in 2019.
Aggravated assaults increased this year, with 243 reported from January through June. During the same period, 222 aggravated assaults were reported in 2020 and 201 in 2019.
The number of robberies dropped significantly, with 38 reported in the first half of 2021, compared with 58 in 2020 and 65 in 2019.
Craig said American Rescue Plan funds are being used to have community health workers respond to check-condition calls. The city also is addressing environmental issues in neighborhoods, adding park rangers, expanding the public works DART team to respond to cleanliness and graffiti issues and more, Craig said.
"Public safety is the most important issue facing our city, and I'm grateful for the men and women of the police department who work every day to keep us safe," she said.
Challengers' plans
Sullivan and Girard have released their own plans to reduce crime in the city.
Sullivan's plan calls for a renewed focus on law enforcement and community-based solutions "centered on a long-term plan rather than reactionary measures."
"I will work with our police department and community leaders to increase the number of beat officers and build stronger bonds in our neighborhoods," Sullivan said. "We will create a more consistent presence on our streets and will focus on public safety issues surrounding the opioid epidemic, homelessness downtown, and the timely removal of gang graffiti that covers our buildings and bridges."
Girard said a major part of his crime proposal involves plans to handle the city's "homeless vagrancy problem" and crack down on "illegal sober living facilities."
"These proposals fundamentally change how the city deals with these problems because they are drivers of higher crime, increased transiency and a lower quality of life in neighborhoods across our city," said Girard.
Both candidates' plans are available online at their campaign websites — www.victoriasullivanformayor.com and www.girardformayor.com.
Manchester's nonpartisan municipal primary election will be held on Sept. 21. The top two finishers advance to the general election on Nov. 2.
