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Saturday, June 4, 2016

COMMUNITY POLICING IN HARTFORD: GOING , GOING, GONE

One of the things that has paid huge dividends over the last decade or longer has been the time and effort put into Hartford's Community policing program. Hartford hasn't seen many of the problems that we have seen across the US where tensions have blown up between the police and the community. That hasn't happened by chance. It has occurred because our residents have been able to build personal relationships between members of the Hartford Police Department and the community they serve.

I think the goal is that every Hartford police officer will see themselves as a community service officer, but with the current staffing levels, we are developing a police force of robotronic report takers chasing from one call to the next. The time for building interpersonal relationships between the police and the community are quickly coming to an end.

Like I said before, it would be my hope that every Hartford officer sees themselves as a community service officer, but it would seem that very effort is being made to decimate those relationships.

The move to remove Animal Control Officers has had a direct effect on those relationships. ACO's are still an arm of HPD and they typically have a positive influence on police/community relations, as well as providing a vital role in the safety of our community.

The HPD mounted unit is also being decimated, actually decimated is the wrong word, disbanded is more appropriate. I think more for payback on political promises made during the campaign to someone that delivered votes than for real budget reasons. The actual monetary cost for the upkeep of the mounted unit is probably around $100,000 a year for food, bedding and vet costs. The police officers assigned to the unit were already fixed budget costs and now they are just being reassigned elsewhere.

That $100,000 cost for the mounted unit is less than what will be spent on some special events in the upcoming weeks. Special events that we will most likely see no, or very little reimbursement for. Again , it is about payback for votes at election time that we are making suck reckless decisions to decimate  police efforts in Hartford.

And these decisions have nothing to do with Chief Rovella. These decisions are being made above his pay grade They are not decisions being made about what is best for Hartford, but more for the future of political careers and future aspirations. I think a future Baltimore of Ferguson  happening in Hartford will be the end to those political aspirations. I pray that never happens, but we can't just eradicate years of progress after one election period and budget cuts while still throwing money away in every other direction.

Community  Policing is not just a "program" it is a philosophy. Residents who have formed bonds with their "CSO's" or community service officers have been a large part of controlling Hartford's crime efforts. They are much more willing to call and trust an officer that they have a bond with rather than calling the dispatch center and spilling their guts to someone they have never met and have no trust factor with..

These relationships can be witnessed at just about every NRZ meeting across the City as residents interact with police officers they know and trust.

Ironically this weekend is the bid changeover at HPD where new assignments and transfers take place for the next three months. Many officers I spoke with this past week told me it was their last week as CSO's or in their current positions. As of Sunday they go back to patrol to fill holes created by years of incompetence by the Administration's and failing to hire. Previous Council's and the Mayor had been warned repeatedly by Chief Rovella of the dangers of ignoring staffing needs. Now we are forced to pay the price for those years of incompetence.

Last year, Hartford's community policing program was honored and recognized by President Obama in a White House ceremony. At that time Chief Rovella was quoted in the Courant as saying "Community policing is something we have been working on for years," Police Chief James C. Rovella said in a statement. "The more people involved in our efforts, the stronger our police department will be and the better our city will be."

I guess "what a difference a year makes"

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

A few points; It is unfortunate that weekly protests have not been organized to demand the return of Officer DiGenova. That is the only way to get her back. Weekly protests at HPD headquarters parking lot.

As for the horse squad, it looks nice but I don't think it is very effective. You can't chase a car on horseback. The manpower is probably better used elsewhere. As for community policing, is what you are saying that there will be no more police officers attending NRZs? They do contribute much in the way of assurance to the community although I have always thought that they flipped a coin as to who would do the honors to calm the natives with low crime statistics. And also, NRZs have in attendance the same few folks and they represent such a minuscule portion of each community as to make them almost a private club.

As for political payoffs, I think you should elaborate a little on that, Kevin, if you have the dope on it.

1081s everywhere said...

As long as james ruskowski enjoys his next decade or so in booking. Try to hire yourself for a pj from there tough guy. I cant wait till the traffic commander form 90s you.
And james, dont bother running for any union spot. You now have 3 votes total.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

why HPD Headquarters? That is not where these decisions are being made

Anonymous said...

Maybe Sarah Bronin has some more friends that need jobs, perhaps some of her friends didn't pass the bar and will resort to becoming Hartford Police Officers, Dog Catchers and CSO's ,Luke will fund these positions, when and only when Sarah says so!

Hey Luke, grow a pair!!!

Hey Hartford

Anonymous said...

So who is geting the hpd mounted horse unit building ?
What about the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of police equipment?
Backdoor politics at its best.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

4:27PM

the answers to those questions were decided back during the election and had nothing to do with the budget. Just wait for the Council's Resolutions, keep an eye on who sponsors them and you will have the answers to your questions.

Anonymous said...

Please. NO RJOke Resolutions! And if so check the spelling, she's a winner.

Deals cut to get elected and...
Luke is better for Hartford why?
Luke is different than Segarra how?
Luke's from where?
Luke wants to be Mayor for what?

Hartford fell for it, why????

As Kevin says, keep an eye on Council and the other Sheep.

Anonymous said...

RJoe may be impossible to have voted out in November. But Cynthia Jennings is possible. Remember she is on working party - not democrat. She is venerable. We would need to support the strongest republican or independent and bullet vote. It's possible but not probable since Hartford voters don't vote based on intelligence.

Anonymous said...

Public safety should not be cut at any cost. Hartford needs Community Policing. It is very effective and works for the small city of Hartford. However, politics always gets in the middle of the mix. For some time the HPD should and could have been hiring but politics got in the way again. Former Mayor Eddie Perez and Pedro Segarra you got caught. The capital city will suffer greatly because of Perez and Segarra's carelessness due to not promoting new HPD officer classes. Where did the two of you put the money. Maybe SAMA!

Anonymous said...

Great idea to bullet vote for a Republican and get rid of Jennings. She is the worse thing that ever happened to Hartford. She is clueless and dose not live in Hartford. Why doesn't anyone check her real address out? The findings will prove that she dose not live in Hartford. She lives in Windsor.

Anonymous said...

@9:14

Ok, it's your project. Get the proof. If you know the address, try to photograph her car with the address of the house in the picture. Or knock on her door and ask her if she would consent to have her rugs cleaned by a super new vacuum cleaner for free as a test and make sure you tape record the conversation. Ah... But Miss Jennings is reading this and laughing but there are other ways of finding out. It could be made an issue in the upcoming elections.

Anonymous said...

Wait till he the city of Hartford files bankruptcy an police officers an firefighters will have no choice but to work for 15$ an hour pensions cut in half you people better pay attention to what happened in Detroit Michigan officers out there get paid peanuts an guess what crying on a blog won't do anything about it interesting that two key witnesses who were gonna testify about the poisonous water scandal in Michigan mysteriously died keep ya eyes on the sparrow!!!

Christopher Lyons retired HPD said...

The Mounted Unit should be kept in place. For Community Policing and positive citizen-police outreach that unit is best. No one doesn't like a horse and their popularity at events is high. The officers assigned, Flynn, Scates and Washington deserve to be kept in their unit.

The lessening of police officers working the streets will be a problem. I challenge anyone who wants to lower police numbers to take a walk in the Mather/Bedford Street, Enfield Street from Mansfield to Mather street area and see if they are comfortable. Or how about a nice weekend at the Five Corners intersection, maybe Barbour and Judson, the entirety of Martin Street. How about the law abiding citizens living there? Don't they need as much police protection as they can get?

Police numbers should never be cut. The police department and other city emergency services need to be a full strength. Its good for business and for public safety.