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Drug-Related Crime

Violent crime, particularly drug-related violent crime, is a significant threat to the NE HIDTA region. Law enforcement officials throughout the region report a distinct relationship between drug trafficking and violent and property crime; they indicate that most robberies, thefts, shootings, murders, and cases of domestic violence have a drug nexus. Reports of violent crimes involving murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, robbery, and property crimes involving burglary and larceny/theft increased in New England from 2005 through 2006, according to the most recent data published in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 2007 Uniform Crime Report. (See Table 2.)

Table 2. Number of Incidents and Percent Change in Violent and Property Crime in New England, 2005-2006

  Number Reported
2005
Number Reported
2006
Percent Change
in Number
Reported
Rate per 100,000
2005
Rate per 100,000
2006
Percent Change per 100,000
Population
Violent crime 45,922 45,247 -1.5 322.1 317.1 -1.6
Murder and nonnegligent Manslaughter 363 370 1.9 2.5 2.6 4
Forcible rape 3,671 3,496 -4.8 25.8 24.5 -4.9
Robbery 13,310 13,940 4.7 93.4 97.7 4.6
Aggravated assault 28,578 27,441 -4.0 200.5 192.3 -4.1
Property crime 341,953 341,602 -0.1 2,398.8 2,393.8 -0.2
Burglary 68,992 69,727 1.1 484.0 488.6 1.0
Larceny/theft 235,667 236,594 0.4 1,653.2 1,658.0 0.3
Motor Vehicle Theft 37,294 35,281 -5.4 261.6 247.2 -5.5

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Note: Minor calculation discrepancies may exist because of rounding.

Violent, armed street gang members who engage in midlevel and retail drug distribution, particularly of heroin and crack cocaine, pose a significant threat to public safety in the NE HIDTA region. Street gang members frequently commit violent crimes such as assaults, home invasions, shootings, and robberies and property crimes such as burglaries and thefts to protect and expand their drug operations and/or to collect drug debts. Home invasions are a particular problem for law enforcement officials because victims are often drug traffickers who either do not report the crime or do not admit that their drugs or drug proceeds were stolen, even if they report the forced entry. In October 2007 law enforcement officials in the Boston area reported the arrests of 59 foreign nationals who were members of various violent street gangs, including MS13, Vatos Locos, 18th Street, and SUR 13. Law enforcement officials in Springfield report that increasing levels of drug- and turf-related violence and shootings in the city are associated with disputes among street gangs operating in low-income housing areas; 21 murders that occurred in Springfield during 2007 are reportedly linked to crack cocaine trafficking. Additionally, some drug traffickers in the region use threats of violence to intimidate witnesses in trials against them.

The acquisition and use of firearms by street gang members pose an increasing threat in the NE HIDTA region. Gang members generally obtain firearms through either direct or intermediary purchases, by theft, and in exchange for drugs. Some gang members also acquire firearms illegally from sources in other parts of the United States or purchase them from other gang members and criminals in the NE HIDTA region. For instance, law enforcement officers in Waterbury, Connecticut, made controlled purchases of firearms and illicit drugs from more than 50 suspected members of the Latin Kings street gang in early 2007.

  
   Violent Crime Impact Team Targets Weapons-Related Violent Crime in Areas of Hartford

Hartford is one of more than 20 major cities across the United States in which a Violent Crime Impact Team was established to aggressively identify, arrest, and prosecute violent offenders who threaten communities with weapons. From April 2005 through 2007, a total of 589 individuals were arrested and charged with firearms offenses in Hartford. Additionally, 1,255 firearms have been recovered in the city since the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) implemented this program. In one case, 88 firearms were seized from individuals who routinely exchanged weapons for cocaine and heroin. Many of the arrests and firearms-recovery incidents involved street gang members.

Source: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
  

According to law enforcement officials, illicit drug abusers in the region also commit a host of violent and property crimes. Heroin and crack cocaine abusers are often implicated in incidents of domestic violence, including child abuse and neglect and spousal abuse. Some drug abusers in the region commit burglary, forgery, fraud, and theft to support their addictions. Moreover, some prescription narcotics abusers have committed bank robberies in the HIDTA region to finance their addictions.


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