HARTFORD — Hartford's spike in homicides comes as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is making state and national pitches for his new Second Chance Society initiative to help nonviolent criminals and touting a reduction in crime across Connecticut.

Questions about how the capital city has so far experienced 21 homicides, more than last year's total of 19, have been raised recently by reporters and others at events where the Democrat is touting the Second Chance legislation that passed this year.

Mike Lawlor, Malloy's undersecretary for criminal justice matters, said "there's a spike going on in Hartford." But he stressed it's a narrow category of crime where Hartford is an "outlier" compared with other Connecticut cities.

But Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra on Wednesday argued that the rise in homicides is a national issue affecting many cities.