RELL IS LATEST TO UNVEIL PLAN TO FIGHT CRIME

HARTFORD -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell yesterday announced a campaign to combat
a wave of violence in the state's big cities including Hartford, New
Haven and Stamford.

"There are social ills that counter our progress, that prevent us from
reaching our potential," Rell said at a news conference in her Capitol
office. "Crime and violence, particularly that which is occurring in
our urban areas, dwell too deeply in too many of our neighborhoods and
it destroys too many lives."

Rell's announcement came four days after Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy
announced a proposal to add 1,000 state and local police officers,
pass stalled gun control legislation and implement a youth development
initiative. Malloy is the endorsed Democratic nominee for governor and
Rell is the Republican candidate. New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr.
is challenging Malloy in an Aug. 8 primary.

Rell said aggressive law enforcement and prosecution make up the first
phase of her plan. The second phase will involve community diversion
boards in New Haven and Bridgeport and efforts to help young people
get jobs, and get involved in sports and other activities.

Rell's plan includes three new dockets in the criminal courts where a
single judge will be assigned to handle gun-related cases in
Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford courts starting in two weeks. New
prosecutors will be hired and assigned to the dockets.

An additional $150,000 will be added to the $300,000 set aside for the
statewide Urban and Cooperative Crime Control Task Force to team state
troopers with local police in urban hot spots. And the Department of
Correction and Department of Children and Families will take extra
steps to supervise parolees and at-risk youth in Hartford, which has
seen 20 shootings, including three fatalities, in the past month.

"Everyone understands that the long-term solution, as the governor
said, is not law enforcement, but the first thing that has to happen
is these areas must be saturated with law enforcement officers," said
state Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle at the news conference.

In Stamford, there has seen a spate of violence that began after a
gang-related shooting in January ticked off a spree of gunfire. The
fatal shooting of a 19-year-old Haitian immigrant triggered close to
10 shootings, and prompted the city's police department to launch a
citywide effort to arrest dozens of drug dealers and gang members. At
least 55 charges have been filed against people as part of the
operation, police have said.

Malloy yesterday said he was "completely underwhelmed" by Rell's
plan.

"She's talking about throwing a few dollars at a problem with no new
ideas, no new initiatives," Malloy said at the Capitol, where he was
delivering a symbolic report card on Rell's first two years in office.
"It's a profound disappointment, as much of the last two years have
been a disappointment."

Rell criticized Malloy for proposing a crime fighting plan at a cost
of $92.5 million over four years with no details on how to pay for
it.

"If you can't pay for it, you can't do it," Rell said.

Rell she was able to get money in the state budget that funds a new
class of 73 state troopers to boost the number to at or near the
state-mandated level of 1,248, a level the state has repeatedly failed
to meet in recent years.

Malloy's plan would increase the number of state troopers to 1,600 by
2010. He rejected Rell's assertion that as governor he couldn't find
the money to pay for his plan.

Rell, Malloy and DeStefano have backed legislation that passed the
Senate but failed in the House that would have required gun owners to
report lost or stolen weapons or face fines. Malloy and Rell blamed
each other yesterday for not promoting the bill enough in the
Democrat-controlled legislature. Democratic Stamford state Sen. Andrew
McDonald was the bill's main proponent in the Senate.

DeStefano yesterday said Rell's plan to fight crime does not go far
enough.

"This is a plan I would expect to see from the Gov. of Mississippi -
in the 1950s," DeStefano said in a statement. "Rell has done nothing
to support the African-American community of Hartford. She has
continually cut funding to give kids positive choices, not one dime
for after school programs, mentoring or summer jobs."

Rell said her program will address concerns about strengthening the
communities where violence is a problem.

"We really need to be present in kids lives," said DCF Commissioner
Darlene Dunbar, at Rell's news conference. "The best way we can help
children and families in the community is to keep them engaged."