Hartford Police Chief Ravella told the city’s Quality of Life and Public Safety Committee Thursday that the department’s year-to-date firearm-related numbers are largely on par with last year and that the police will hold a gun buyback on Nov. 1 funded with forfeiture money.

In a presentation of citywide statistics, Chief Ravella said Hartford recorded 60 nonfatal firearm assaults and nine gun homicides year to date, for 69 gunshot victims and 10 total homicides (one by knife). He compared that with the prior year’s figures—58 nonfatal firearm assaults and 12 gun homicides for 70 total gunshot victims—saying the city remains “right around last year’s historical, low numbers.”

Why it matters: The department emphasized targeted enforcement and technology—shot-spotter data and a capital city command center—to respond more rapidly to shootings and to link cameras and vehicle tracking during incidents.

What the department announced: Chief Ravella described a gun buyback scheduled for Nov. 1 at 50 Jennings Road, “funded with some massive forfeiture money,” and said the event will accept firearms in exchange for gift cards. He also said the command center has processed “over 8,000 requests” and that the software and camera coordination help investigators identify vehicles and follow leads in real time.

Recruitment and training: Ravella said the department is running dual academies—parallel junior and senior classes—has recently graduated recruits and received laterals returning to Hartford. He reported three newly approved positions that brought authorized slots up to five for a cadet/recruit program, described free pre-testing services for candidates (he called the fee a barrier otherwise), and said the department is pushing outreach at schools and through the Police Athletic League to identify candidates.

Narcotics and youth shootings: The chief reported a correlation between narcotics enforcement and a reduction in younger shooters, and noted the department is seizing packaged THC products that are being sold in retail outlets and may exceed legal limits.

Discussion and follow-up: Council members thanked the department for the presentation and asked for response-time data; Chief Ravella said he would provide updated response-time figures at a later meeting. The chief also noted that some investigations from recent weekend shootings are active and that warrants and DNA requests are already in process.

Sources and attribution: Direct quotes and figures are from Chief Ravella’s presentation to the committee on 10/09/2025.