Excerpt of news conference regarding 13 people shot at a party, courtesy of Doing It Local. Police ask anyone with information to call the confidential hotline 203-576-TIPS (8477.)
Mayor Joe Ganim is seen dabbing drops of blood from his nose. He had cut himself shaving, according to Communications Director Av Harris. His right arm has been in a sling following surgery to repair a torn bicep that he injured playing basketball against his son.
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So Joe, how is that unofficial Police Substation/Political HQ working out these days?
Is gun violence still a joke? A little political fodder to use as a PR hit?
Did you drive your mobile City Hall up to the scene to check things out on Sunday?
Contacting the confidential hotline!!!!!!!!!
This news just hit the newswires …
Gangs fueled by the drug trade have torn apart the social fabric of our society! According to website www .drugsinc.com the cartels rake in an estimated $500,000,000,000 a year, yes 500 BILLION DOLLARS a year! The cartels are far reaching into every urban, suburban and rural community in America. If you don’t believe me go on www .drugsinc.com. Get an education about how they operate moving illegal drugs and weapons north of the border and moving $$$$$$ south of the border. They seem to have a system down. Locally and around the USA gangs are fighting for control of territory. There is a lot of money at stake. On the homefront, EVERY MIDDLE School and High School in Bridgeport is infested with gangs that control the drug trade in schools, intimidating students by recruiting the most vulnerable. As the only drug counselor in the district until 2011 when John Ramos laid me off, I witnessed these members going after students to sell for them. My colleague, school social worker Steve Karjanis created a Nationally Acclaimed model called the “LEADERSHIP GROUP” at Central High. We started with just 3 students in 2005 and by 2009 we had over 500 students involved in this “PEER TO PEER” model. The demand for drugs decreased, attendance by truant students improved, disciplinary issues decreased, grades went up,violence decreased and on and on. A study was completed by Dr. Joy Kaufman of Yale. She reported in her study that The Leadership Group should be in every Middle School and High School in Bridgeport. In 2009, we had over 100 students “clean” for a year or more. Here is the Yale Study.
channel.nationalgeographic.com/drugs-inc/
In 2009, Dr Ramos went on a mission to undermine, discredit and dissolve this nationally acclaimed, evidence-based model. After outrage from parents, students and community the model was taken over by administration who knew nothing about this work. Ultimately, the model was eradicated in 2011 despite outcries from participants and parents. My colleague Steve Karjanis was moved to Blackham School in 2011. He immediately noticed evidence of gang activity and students using drugs. He began the process once again. In his first year there he engaged 28 students and their families into counseling at community agencies. His efforts stabilized Blackham, rooting out gang and drug activity. Then in 2014, his supervisor Mr. D Young, director of social work in the district told him he could no longer facilitate groups focusing on drug prevention and has since been put on administrative leave. As I mentioned, today gangs and drugs are embedded in every middle and high school in Bridgeport. There are NO resources or services or qualified personnel to assist these at-risk students and those using leading to a 40% dropout rate and feeding the “SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE.” Young males of color don’t have a chance.
We will never stop the inflow of drugs into this country. We will never stop production of illegal drugs within our borders. We will never stop the flow of illegal weapons flowing into the hands of criminals.
But we do have an opportunity to reduce the demand and it starts in our schools. Today, there is not ONE drug counselor in the Bridgeport district. A town bordering Bpt has three in their district.
The Leadership Group model should be in every middle school and High school in Bridgeport as Dr. Joy Kaufman stated in her study.
But with the leadership of interim superintendent Fran Rabinowitz these services will never come to be.
The issue is not about needing more money in the district, it’s about redirecting and allocating money where it’s most needed!
Bringing back the Leadership Group is part of the solution.
The students in Bridgeport need you to advocate for them. We are losing more and more every day to the streets and death.
Let’s hold this administration accountable for the 21,000 students they are responsible for!
Folks are free to contact me at davegordon2612@hotmail.com
Maybe there’s a hole in the fence you can repair as a true crimefighter.
We put a chip and a bar code on everything that’s made in this country!
Then why can’t we do the same thing with every bullet and gun that’s purchased in this country and state?
Sen. Dick wants more gun laws so the criminals won’t have them, that’s common sense.
Mayor Joe G had a bloody nose? Did he get punched, a medical issue or drugs?
Good ideas, Jim. We have the technology to track weapons/bullets in that manner. Applying technology to weapons-tracking would help to prevent and solve a significant percentage of firearms-related crime. I recall an elderly gentleman from the Stratford Avenue area of Stratford (Bridgeport border) approaching me when I worked for CT GA House Speaker Lyons and recommending that the state get involved on creating a digitized manner of gun and bullet tracking. I passed this idea on to several GA Reps. and Senators and they reacted toward me as if I were an idiot for even indulging this gentleman’s concerns and ideas in this regard. I referred him to three well-known think-tanks that indicated they would speak with him. I saw him sometime afterward and he said they communicated with him and expressed appreciation of his ideas. This was an elderly gentleman from the most unlikely of neighborhoods and backgrounds thinking outside the box. (He also thought of a vaccine to address addictive responses to substances in humans. Since that time, science has caught up with that idea and there has been some success in lab experiments designed to find permanent cures for addictions using “vaccines” designed block drug receptor sites. I still remember that man’s name.) And here we have these educated, urbane, sophisticated, experienced politicians who can’t seem to appreciate timely ideas and propose and follow through on them.
But excellent ideas, Jim. Now the rest of us need to start thinking about solutions and ways to bypass our incredibly inept, unfocused political representation and see if we can find ways to get things done.
One thing that might help is a citywide, Internet-accessible video surveillance system that would allow “virtual” block watch patrols in all neighborhoods, 24/7, which would provide live surveillance capacity 24/7 as well as records of events/data that could be used in any time context. This idea was presented to BPD in 1997 by the LFA Block Watch. We can see how much has been done in the 19 years since it was first proposed. Everybody is still “talking” about “possibly” trying to implement such a system. I have approached companies such as ATT and ADT about working with neighborhoods to help set up such systems using private property in order to get around the impediments presented by city government. Several companies are interested. But it’s all about $.
But if we are to remain as residents of this city, we have to try to take the initiative to get things done in the face of government stupidity and inertia.
Sounds like you want to live in a jailed life society. Get the government to regulate everything we do. What America does not need is more government involvement in the people’s lives or for them to pass more laws and more regulations in order to keep the people in line.
Jeff, we have the technology today, GPS, WiFi, Cellular Positioning that could help solve these heinous crimes, every cell phone gives off a GPS location from and to the nearest cellphone tower, by tracking every cellphone number at that time of day and party, you then have a list of cell numbers to work with for Plymouth St, then cross reference those numbers to the Trumbull Garden apartment cellphone numbers if that list is still available for that date. It’s a start.
What ever happened with that police shooting near the Stratford line? Haven’t heard any more about that either.
Again you are correct, Jim. A lot of crime could be solved through the simple application of technical knowledge with available technology, e.g, the use of cellphone position/messaging records. I’m sure modern detective classes teach these things. Why aren’t we hearing more about their application?