Data Released On Project Longevity. Sort Of

Law enforcement has ​“called in” 164 gang members for a strict talking-to. It’s anyone’s guess how many showed up or went straight.

And the notorious Newhallville ​“R2” gang is still in business, if it ever went away.

So reveals, and doesn’t reveal, a new report on Project Longevity, the celebrated effort city police launched along with state and federal law enforcement to target the small number of people believed to be responsible for the bulk of gun violence in New Haven.

Police officials submitted the report this week to the Board of Alders three months after promising to respond to a request for documentation on how the project has fared since its introduction two years ago.

Under Project Longevity, university researchers help cops identify networks of young people involved in gun violence. City, state and federal law-enforcement agents build criminal cases against the targets. Together with community social-service agencies, they then invite the groups in for ​“call-ins” where they’re offered help going straight — through counseling, job-training, housing help, school — or else face serious jail time if they continue committing violence. (The video above features one of the community leaders describing the message, at the project’s Nov. 2012 rollout.)

So far New Haven has held six call-ins, according to the report issued this week by local police officials and the project’s coordinator. The total of 164 called-in members of gangs or loosely-affiliated groups causing trouble around town belong to the Playboys and Slut Wave (two of the most problematic gangs of late), the Frontline Miller Bloods, the Goodrich Street Boys, crews from Poplar Street and West Read Street, and R2, according to a portion of the report written by Assistant Chief Archie Generoso, point person for the project within the New Haven department.

Then-Police Chief Frank Limon declared the notorious Newhallville-based R2 gang ​“dismantled” into 2010 thanks to a bust. Then it was alleged that R2 in fact had reconstituted and been implicated in another murder, the 2013 shooting death of Ericka Robinson inside the Key Club Cabaret strip club. Yet top cops at the time denied the gang had returned. Now the new report reveals that Project Longevity has identified R2, very much in business, as a major target.

Asked Wednesday about R2, Generoso said, ​“These are fluid groups. This is what they rep themselves” as at particular times.

Of 30 people summoned for the first call-in, on Nov. 26, 2012, 25 showed up, according to a second portion of the report, written by Stacy Spell, a community activist and retired detective who last month became the head of New Haven Project Longevity, working out of the U.S. Attorney’s office. For the subsequent call-ins, noted Spell (who wasn’t in the job at the time), he had ​“no record of total attendees.”

Spell’s report details how many attendees asked for help with housing, education, and health services at those meetings. It does not include information on how many actually got served. Nor is information provided on recidivism rates among those called-in.

Click here to read the full report.

13 Weeks

Annex Alder Al Paolillo Jr. noted those omissions. Paolillo had originally pressed police officials for that data back at this September hearing of the Board of Alders Public Safety Committee. Officials gave the alders a handout with lots of data about how Project Longevity is doing … in Bridgeport. (The program was expanded to Bridgeport and Hartford after it began in New Haven.) The Bridgeport report included breakdowns on attendance at call-ins, data on follow-ups to requests for help, and recidivism rates.

At the time of the September hearing New Haven’s program was in a state of flux because its director, Rev. Bill Mathis, had abruptly resigned, saying he had received insufficient support. Alders asked for New Haven data at the September hearing. Saying they had none, officials promised to get a full report to the alders soon.

Officials returned to the same committee this Monday night, three months later. Still no report. The alders weren’t pleased. The officials promised to get a report ASAP — and delivered one on Tuesday.

“This looks nothing like Bridgeport’s report,” Paolillo (pictured) remarked Wednesday after reading the New Haven report. ​“The report seems like a work in progress.

“There’s nowhere to go but up.”

Paolillo added that he ​“looks forward” to working with the Spell, the new project director in New Haven.

“After 13 weeks,” committee Chair Brian Wingate said, ​“the actual report seems vague to me. We should have got this sooner. [And] you compare this to the Bridgeport report, it’s not detailed enough.”

Committee member Abigail Roth also expressed disappointment at the 13-week delay. The police department ​“should have been more responsive,” she said.”

Impact Tough To Measure

In his report, Generoso cites the dramatic drop in violent crime in New Haven since Project Longevity launched. He included the above chart.

“While Project Longevity alone cannot claim the entire credit for these dramatic reductions it has been an integral part of a gun violence reduction strategy implemented by the New Haven Police department,” Generoso wrote.

Paolillo agreed that it’s tough to single out one cause for the drop in violent crime. He noted that the 2012 Operation Bloodline drug sweep took many criminals off the street. He also cited ​“the work that goes on every day on the street with the officers.” In judging Project Longevity, he said, solid data would help.

Spell (pictured) made this promise at the end of the report filed this week: ​“Future reports will reflect a detailed accounting of all call-in activities to include: attendees, services requested and provided, as well as the outcomes. In addition to my taking on the role as the new Project Manager, a Project Service Coordinator has been identified and an offer has been extended.”