Report: 6.5 Percent of Waterford Residents Have Pistol Permits

The New Haven Register recently published a map showing the percentage of residents in each municipality that have pistol permits, with it showing that 1,275 Waterford residents have pistol permits, or 6.5 percent of the population.

That number is relatively consistent with other suburban towns in the area, as 5.1 percent of East Lyme residents have pistol permits, 6.4 percent of Montville residents and 6.7 percent of Old Lyme residents. The map overall shows an inverse relationship between the percentage of residents with pistol permits in a municipality compared to municipalities typically associated as being high-crime areas, with municipalities typically considered as high-crime areas having a smaller percentage of residents with pistol permits.

For example, only 1.6 percent of New Haven residents have pistol permits, 1.5 percent of Hartford residents, 2 percent of New London residents and 2.8 percent of Bridgeport residents, which mean all four have among the smallest percentage of residents with pistol permits in the state. However, all four municipalities are typically considered high-crime areas compared to other Connecticut municipalities.

Conversely, towns with higher percentages of residents with pistol permits are typically considered low-crime municipalities. Most of the municipalities that have a relatively high percentage of residents with pistol permits, like Canaan with 13.5 percent, Union with 12.1 percent and Lebanon 10.4 percent, are rural, small towns with relatively low crime rates.

To see the map, click here.