NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Crime is a constant worry for some in New Haven.

Officials said the elm city brought in five homicides during the month of January. At this time last year, the city only had two homicides, which both happened in March.

Authorities have also been fighting back against a string of smash-and-grab burglaries with 15 occurring on Whalley Avenue over the last three weeks. Police said they have a suspect in mind.

“That’s why I’m doing walking beats and increasing the motor unit to do motor stops we’ve also seen a turnaround in the community response. The community is talking to us doing a lot more with us and helping us reduce the violence,” said New Haven Chief Police Karl Jacobson. 

Jacobson said there’s been a rise in homicides since this time last year, but a decrease in shootings. In 2022, there were 19 shootings at this time, but New Haven has only seen 15 in 2023.

A spokesperson for Connecticut Against Gun Violence told News 8 the problem is not limited to New Haven. 

“One of the things that New Haven has been facing like other cities around the state of Connecticut and around the country are a depletion of resources that we’ve seen happen since 2020,” said Jeremy Stein, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence.

Jacobson said he’s working to change that by putting more patrols on the streets.

“So, I mean we did increase patrol presence in that area we also had detectives doing nighttime surveillance of the area and that’s been helpful as well,” he said. 

Burglaries have also been a problem. Police said three people have been responsible for more than twenty-five burglaries this year. That includes a couple who police say were involved in a string of business burglaries in Westville, which News 8 first reported on in January.

“We’re not seeing more people do it we’re just seeing a couple people do way more,” he said. 

Jacobson told News 8, he’s seized more than 50 guns already this year which is way up from 2022.

He also told us there has been one arrest in a 2023 homicide and two warrants are at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney homicides in 2023.

Local anti-violence advocates said they’re working hand in hand with police to stop the problem.

“It’s no surprise that we’re seeing violence increase due to people losing their jobs, lack of community centers things like that,” Stein said.

“We’re downtown every day because there is youth down there fighting, so we go down there to give our presence just to be preventative before it gets to that level, before they are engaging in the criminal justice level,” said Leonard Jahad, executive director of the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program.

The New Haven Police Department will hold a crime briefing at its headquarters Wednesday at 2 p.m.