The Alcohol-Aggression Link: No Big Mystery
The following arrests occurred in the downtown bar area from midnight on January 1, 2010 until late morning on the same day. Because of the holiday, this is a higher number of arrests than usual for the area. Several venues hosted multiple arrests. I am posting this information as a response to the belief that the crime around these clubs is caused exclusively by Hartford residents. Unless noted otherwise, the arrested individuals have stated their home addresses as towns other than Hartford, such as Ellington, Manchester, Southington, Granby, New Britain, Berlin, Glastonbury, and several from Massachusetts:
187 Allyn Street - four separate arrests on Jan 1st for disorderly conduct (Black Bear Saloon)
188 Allyn Street - one for breach of peace and criminal trespass
188 Allyn Street -one breach of peace and criminal trespass
188 Allyn — one for disorderly conduct
103 Allyn Street - one for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass (The Pour House)
181 Allyn Street - two separate arrests for disorderly conduct (between Black Bear Saloon and NV)
121 Allyn Street - one arrest for drinking in public, interfering with police, and disorderly conduct (at restaurant that does not serve alcohol, but wedged between several bars)
315 Trumbull Street - two arrests for criminal trespass and interfering with police (Hilton)
50 Union Place - two arrests (one is a Hartford resident) for combined charges of criminal trespass, interfering with police, threatening, breach of peace (Up or On The Rocks)
84 Union Place - Hartford resident arrested for disorderly conduct, assault, and interfering with police (Federal Cafe)
190 Allyn - one for disorderly conduct
178 Allyn - one for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass
188 Allyn - one for interfering with police (near Black Bear Saloon)
111 Allyn - Hartford resident arrested for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass (One Eleven Lounge)
315 Trumbull - Hartford resident arrested for breach of peace and assault (Hilton)
50 Morgan St - two arrested for interfering with police (Bristol Bar & Grill in the Crowne Plaza)
188 Allyn - one for disorderly conduct
315 Trumbull - one for interfering with police and disorderly conduct
188 Allyn - one for assault and disorderly conduct
315 Trumbull - one for disorderly conduct and interfering with police
111 Allyn - a Hartford resident for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass
338 Asylum - disorderly conduct and criminal trespass (parking lot near Pig’s Eye Pub and Black-eyed Sally’s)
On January 2nd, there was one arrest in the same downtown bar area, but on January 3rd, there were six arrests there, mostly on Allyn.
WFSB reports that:
A Middletown bar has lost its liquor license after the Department of Consumer Protection said it received numerous complaints.
Police said they’ve been called to Public Bar And Grill on Main Street more than 80 times over the past year to break up fights.Police said the bar is a hazard to public safety because the fights take officers off the street.
Aside from special events, like New Year’s Eve or the major parades, we should not expect officers to be taken off the street in Hartford to deal with barroom brawls.
I’d be curious to see what the arrest log looks like for these dates in other major cities in our region including Boston, New York, New Haven, Worcester, etc. I’m not necessarily suprised at this log, considering the nature of New Years Eve, but it does give a certain stigma to downtown Hartford life, even if the arrested are not Hartford residents (they are still coming to Hartford). The question is: how do we slow/stop this crime downtown? Change venue type? Enforce stricter guidelines?
Arrest records are public information. Hartford’s arrest log is linked from the HPD site. I assume that most cities have a similar set up, though I would stick to comparing Hartford with other cities of its size, and not with ones like Boston, NY, Chicago, etc. New York and Hartford are not comparable, so it makes no point to try to compare. Looking at Springfield, Worcester, or Providence would be more fruitful and fair.
I noted in the New Year’s resolution post a few ways I think this type of crime could be deterred. Another might be through change in attitude. People need to stop thinking of Hartford as a playground or dumping ground, as a place where they can drop in, leave wreckage, and disappear from. Recognizing downtown as a residential area, and not just as a place to drink, would help tremendously. I think that area colleges could aid in this by trying to strengthen bonds between the college and the city. I have lots of ideas, but first, I think that the easiest way to deal with this is to pressure the bars/clubs to be more responsible with serving alcohol. They need to also recognize that without strong community support, their businesses will not be allowed to remain…and if they make life miserable for residents, this is exactly what will happen. Case in point: The Emperor — http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/downtowndevelopment/htfd_advocate_072109.asp
http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/economicdevelopment/htfd_advocate_081408.asp
I guess what I’d be interested in is the same information for West Hartford and some other local area bar locations. Although, I’m wondering if it’s the TYPE of Bar that Hartford keeps opening. I wonder - it seems like there seem to be certain bars that keep coming up on the list. I wonder if it has something to do with the particular clientele for those locations or how they operate. Underage drinking allowed more? Things like that as well. ALthough I do agree with your comment that people need to stop using Hartford as a “dumping ground”.
You just articulated a lot of what I was trying to. There are a few drinking establishments in Hartford that I have been known to spend a little money at, and they are not the ones where people are getting arrested for disorderly conduct on a regular basis. The ones that frequently make the news are “meat markets,” attractive to youth. The places I go cater to an older crowd, or to those who just want to chill and listen to music or talk.
Anyway, here are links to some nearby cities/towns that have online arrest logs:
Springfield MA: http://www.springfieldpolice.net/police/arr_log.0.html
New Haven: http://www.newhavencrimelog.org/
Norwalk:
http://www.norwalkct.org/police/pdf2/arrests.pdf
Farmington: http://www.farmington-ct.org/TownServices/PoliceDepartment/Arrest.aspx
Holyoke MA: http://www.holyokepd.org/arrest.html
Framingham MA: http://www.framinghamma.gov/index.aspx?NID=906
I’m pretty sure that West Hartford does not post its arrest log online. Boston and NYC have crime stats up, but as far as I can tell, no detailed log.