The recent shootings at the Thames River Apartment complex were tragic, but also preventable. 

Low-income housing eligibility criteria is not determined by the New London Housing Authority. Like Medicaid criteria, housing eligibility is determined the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and by waiting list. Perhaps the more appropriate defendant of the recent lawsuit should be HUD and the Connecticut Department of Social Services. 

Additionally, security must be equally shared by police and by the community itself. Tenants must be held accountable for their actions and their visitors. Likewise, landlords who profit handsomely off the Section 8 subsidies must be held accountable for their tenants. Unlike government, they can screen. 

The recent lawsuit against the NLHA and New London Police Department is both unrealistic and frivolous. Recent HUD statistics indicate New London has Connecticut's highest per capita low-income housing rate, 24.9 percent. Perhaps the real culprit then is a “welfare culture,” created by government and enthusiastically supported by landlords. 

Changing this culture will require not change but revolution, a dedication to an aggressive zoning enforcement and economic development strategy and a police force double its current size to assure both the security and future prosperity of New London.

Marcus J. Fisk

New London