By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo

While there’s never been a murder reported in Norfolk and violent crimes are extremely rare, residents may be surprised at the number of non-violent crimes that take place in Norfolk each year.

Where do you find such statistics? In a publication the state publishes called “Crime in Connecticut Annual Report.” It is supposed to come out every year but there is a two-year lag time. The most recent was in 2004. The reports for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 served as the basis for determining the average crime rate in Connecticut Magazine’s recent ratings of the best small towns in Connecticut. Norfolk placed number one overall for the third year in a row.

In the 20 years between 1985 and 2004, Norfolk averaged 27 major crimes per year. Fifty-two percent were larcenies and 34 percent were burglaries. Motor vehicle theft and aggravated assault each accounted for six percent of all crimes committed in the same time period, and the remaining two percent pertained to rape and robbery. Of note, a rape or robbery hasn’t been reported in Norfolk in over 12 years.

“Crime in Connecticut Annual Report” only includes the following major crimes: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. Robbery has been defined as the taking or attempt to take anything of value from someone by force or threat of force, while larceny is the stealing of property without the use of force. Burglary is defined as the unlawful entry of a structure in the attempt to commit a felony or a theft. Aggravated assault is any attack for the purpose of inflicting bodily injury, usually with the use of a weapon. Simple assaults are excluded from the list.

How do we compare, criminally speaking, with our immediate neighbors?

In Connecticut Magazine’s rankings, Colebrook, which rated seventh overall, averaged 24 major crimes per year between 1985 and 2004, while Canaan, which finished in tenth place, averaged just 15.

The types of crimes committed in Colebrook and Canaan mirror Norfolk’s experience. Burglary and larceny accounted for 84 percent of the crimes committed in Colebrook between 1985 and 2004. Aggravated assault accounted for nine percent, motor vehicle theft for six percent and murder, rape and robbery the remaining one percent. In Canaan, burglary and larceny accounted for 83 percent of major crimes committed between 1985 and 2004, aggravated assault for 11 percent, motor vehicle theft for four percent and murder, rape and robbery the remaining two percent.

Norfolk’s Resident Trooper, Officer Gregory Naylor, reports that 2006 was fairly quiet in terms of major crimes, with the exception of burglaries. Two Torrington residents, Michael Chase and Charles Parks, were apprehended in association with numerous break-ins in Norfolk last year and have been incarcerated.

As for 2007, criminal activity has so far been dormant as far as Officer Naylor is concerned, with one notable exception. This was a recent raid on a house at 10 Ashpohtag Road resulting in the arrest of the owner, Norfolk resident Louis Cammilletti, along with Richard Hamilton, Karen NeJaime and Loretta Duntz. The four were booked on various weapons and narcotics charges, made bond and are free while awaiting trial.