Letter: There Is A Crime Problem In Fairfield, Across Connecticut

To the editor,

The recent crime spree that is taking place throughout our state and right here in our community is alarming and stresses the need for serious juvenile justice reforms.

Over the past couple of months, terrifying crimes have taken place in Fairfield. From a carjacking outside a downtown Fairfield ice-cream shop to our children’s teachers being robbed at gunpoint in a school parking lot, it is evident that there is a crime problem and we need to do something to address the issue before a tragic event occurs.

The juvenile justice system in Connecticut has fallen out of balance and is being exploited by repeat criminals that understand that there are little to no consequences for being arrested. This only emboldens further criminal activity and is a disservice to both the community and those individuals committing the crime that unfortunately believe they can commit a crime without the juvenile justice responding in any meaningful way.

We need to enact criminal justice reforms that focus on prevention, accountability and rehabilitation. Commonsense reforms like implementing victim impact panels, electronic monitoring for juveniles arrested while awaiting trial on previous offenses, and expedited arraignment for felonies, sex assaults, offenses involving use of a firearm are well overdue.

For Democratic lawmakers to ignore the overwhelming spike in crime is irresponsible and we should not have to wait until a more tragic incident occurs before action is taken.

Brian Farnen

Former Fairfield state representative