Connecticut Republicans are blaming their Democratic counterparts — and Governor Ned Lamont’s administration — for a drop in police recruitment.
Recent police accountability and clean slate laws, as well as the legalization of marijuana, have hurt police recruitment and retention, according to State Representative Greg Howard.
Howard is the ranking member on the Public Safety Committee and a detective with the Stonington police department.
He spoke about the conversations he’s had with colleagues.
“They say there's a legislature in the state of Connecticut that supports criminals, excuses criminals, and continuously attacks law enforcement,” Howard said. “It's difficult to disagree with them.”
Howard said the governor’s proposed police accountability bill is an example of a hurtful policy. The bill was before the Judiciary Committee for a public hearing on Wednesday.
It would make falsifying a law enforcement record illegal for police officers, which Howard said he agrees with. But he added singling out police officers when other people make entries into those records is bad for police morale.
“He [Lamont] narrowed it down to just police officers,” Howard said. “So he's standing there saying if a dispatcher makes a false contribution to a law enforcement record, not a crime. If an employee at the Centralized Infractions Bureau does it, not a crime. Prosecutor at the court does, not a crime. Police officer does it, felon.”
House GOP leader Vincent Candelora also pointed to recent violent crimes, like a carjacking in New Haven and five arrests in connection with a stolen vehicle in Farmington, as a result of “policies to make it more difficult for police officers to do their job.”
Senate GOP Leader Stephen Harding agreed and said the state's violent crime rates would decrease if police officers had more support from lawmakers.
“There have been continuous efforts on the part of the majority to limit their [police officers] abilities to protect themselves and the individuals in our communities,” Harding said.
A spokesperson for Gov. Ned Lamont said recruitment and retention remains a priority for the administration.
"The governor cares deeply about the safety of Connecticut residents and ensuring we have adequate staffing in our municipal and state police agencies so they can carry out their duties effectively. He believes we have the best and most professional law enforcement officers in the country, in part because of our high standards. The governor has prioritized police recruitment and retention during his time in office," spokesperson Julia Bergman said.
"The number of State Police troopers is now higher than when the governor first took office in 2019, but he has acknowledged that we have more work to do on this front. He strongly encourages anyone interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement to visit beaconnecticuttrooper.com to learn how they can get involved in the recruitment process.”
