The Hartford Police Department plans to install cameras at 50 additional intersections across the city, expanding a surveillance network that officials credit with helping reduce gun violence while boosting case clearance rates.
The deployment will expand the department’s partnership with Chelmsford, Massachusetts-based Axis Communications and bring Hartford’s total camera count to nearly 1,350.
The cameras feed into the Capital City Command Center, the department’s real-time crime center that synthesizes video data for active investigations.
The expansion comes as Hartford experienced its lowest number of gunshot victims in more than 25 years in 2024, according to the police department. The department’s homicide case solvability rate now exceeds 70%.
According to a peer-reviewed study authored by Hartford Police Sgt. Chris Mastroianni and a University of Pennsylvania professor of criminology, Hartford cases with video evidence were 442% more likely to be solved than those without.
The new deployment will include pan-tilt-zoom cameras, fixed and panoramic sensors, network horn speakers and strobes, and expanded license plate recognition capabilities.
The technology has applications beyond violent crime. The department used cameras equipped with license plate recognition to investigate illegal dumping earlier this year, generating savings through restitution and reduced cleanup costs.
The cameras allow trained officers to monitor live feeds and leverage video analytics that can automatically issue alerts when specific vehicles appear. The department also uses network speakers and strobes to project a remote police presence in areas such as public parks after dark.
Deployment is underway and expected to be completed by spring 2026.
