DPH presents heat maps showing concentrated firearm homicides; rolls out safe-storage distribution and evaluator contract

The Connecticut Department of Public Health on a recent commission call released new county- and city-level analysis of firearm homicides and suicides from 2020–2023, announced progress on a statewide safe-storage rollout and said the Yale School of Public Health will serve as the evaluator for the agency's community-based grants.

DPH staff said the office has distributed 840 firearm safes and 948 cable locks to date and is working on a formal firearm safe distribution plan. "At this time, we've, distributed 840 safes and 948 cable locks," DPH staff said during the presentation. The agency said distribution channels under consideration include community-based organizations (CBOs), housing outreach, mobile health vans, schools, events, gun shops, pharmacies and veteran centers, and that it will track where distributed safes go and use a short survey developed with the evaluator to gather user data.

The plan and the data analysis grew out of two summer internship projects. Interns LaVar and Kasim presented heat maps built from DPH data covering firearm homicides and firearm suicides between 2020 and 2023. "Firearm homicides in Connecticut are not evenly distributed, and they are…