Health & Fitness
Has Manchester Become the 'City of Village Thieves'? Crime and Public Safety in Manchester
Manchester Police Chief talks about public safety, crime statistics and police trends on Manchester Review in January.
At first glance, property crime statistics indicate that Manchester has a bunch of thieves in town. The number of property crimes (theft, larceny) is significantly higher than any surrounding town and 55 percent higher than the average for the state. But statistics can be misleading. According to Marc Montminy, Manchester Chef of Police, the property crime numbers include all the shoplifting at the Mall, where thousands of additional people come into town each week. It’s like having a fluid city within a city. The Chief states if you take out the mall thievery, Manchester’s property crime rate is way below the state and that of surrounding towns. Whew, maybe we are still the city of village charm.
in an interview on Manchester Review airing in January, the Chief dispels the Manchester property crime myth, the “gang” myth, explains current police trends and the accomplishments of the MPD. The by the national Commission for Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Trends include policemen functioning more and more as social workers, preventing crime by building relationships and mediating problems, not just arresting bad guys. In addition we have citizen block watch groups keeping an eye on our neighborhoods.
Montminy talks about his self initiated research on racial profiling. The data on Manchester police stops illustrate that racial profiling is not an issue in Town. In addressing the issue of safety at Manchester High School, Montminy says there has been significant progress. There were as opposed to only eight this year. The school resource officer role at MHS has shifted to building relationships, mentoring students and dealing with criminal issues rather than being called on to discipline students.
Montminy sees recent violent events such as the , the on the West Side and the shooting spree by earlier this year as unrelated, isolated occurrences, not a trend.
Chief Montminy appears on Manchester Review with host Jack Peak on Mondays at 9 p.m. in January on channel 15. Manchester Review is a local Public Access TV show addressing Manchester issues.
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