Police Department
Monthly Report
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Police Department |
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James L. Cetran
Chief of Police
A Probationary Police Officer has completed five weeks of basic training at the Connecticut Police Academy. Graduation from the Academy is expected in August, 2007.
Two Probationary Police Officers have completed the first of four Field Training phases and began Phase Two training. This Field Training is under the supervision of Department Field Training Officers. During the Field Training Program, these officers are observed and evaluated on a daily basis while they are expected to perform more duties with each phase.
On Tuesday, April 17, 2007 a patrol officer was monitoring traffic on the Silas Deane Highway when he saw a vehicle pull into a parking lot of a local motel. The officer had made many arrests at this motel and believed he should check the registration of the car. The officer found that the vehicle had recently been reported stolen out of New Britain and had been taken in a car-jacking. The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke with the two occupants. After arresting the male operator for being in possession of the stolen car, the officer found a large quantity of heroin and some marijuana inside the car. At the completion of the investigation, it was determined that the male currently under arrest had also committed the car-jacking. This same male had then committed two armed robberies in the city of New Britain using this stolen car. The male was arrested for drug possession and possession of the stolen car. The female passenger was released without charges.
On Thursday, April 26, 2007 a patrol officer saw a vehicle that had a piece of paper covering more than half of its rear license plate as it traveled down the road. The officer was able to pass this vehicle to view the front license plate. The officer saw that the front license plate also had a piece of paper covering half of the front license plate. The vehicle then made several reckless moves on the roadway including almost striking another vehicle. Believing that someone had intentionally covered half of each license plate in order to commit crimes and conceal their identity, the officer stopped this vehicle. While interviewing the operator and the passenger, the officer saw that they were both very nervous. The officer also saw several indicators of recent drug use in the car. Investigation revealed that the two people in the car had just stolen a DeWalt drill at Home Depot in Glastonbury. There was also cocaine, heroin, and drug paraphernalia in the car and the passenger was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant. Both the operator and the passenger were arrested.
This month members of the Detective Bureau initiated or were assigned follow up to twenty-six new cases. The Detectives are investigating three fraud cases, two burglaries, one identity theft, one sexual assault, two larceny cases and one narcotics case. Detectives also completed seven pistol permits applications.
In April, 2007 the Detective Bureau also began to review surveillance video in a specific area of town. The surveillance is needed to monitor criminal mischief situations caused by one or more suspects.
On April 6, 2007 detectives responded to a reported robbery in the Westfield Heights housing area. The complainant/ victim stated that he was in the Wethersfield Housing Authority area to purchase marijuana and was robbed of his money by a masked male. Upon the officer's arrival, the complainant was interviewed. No suspect(s), however, were located.
On April 30, 2007 detectives responded to a complaint from Connecticut Light and Power of theft of services. It was determined that a Wolcott Hill Road resident had been stealing power since 2006. The resident had modified his meter box to receive power without paying for it. After admitting fault, the service was disconnected. A subsequent investigation by detectives discovered that he had again hooked up his illegal services and was again stealing power from CL&P. An arrest warrant is pending for theft of services
In April, 2007 the SRO completed four incident reports for events including vandalism, larceny, a fight and a public disturbance. Additionally, the SRO handled two mediations between Wethersfield High School students in an effort to curtail future problems. The SRO also assisted Patrol Division members with an investigation regarding a breach of peace that occurred off school grounds bringing the complainant and suspects to a common understanding. The SRO, along with WHS School Security, is also reviewing the current deployment and location of WHS hall monitors.
The Wethersfield Police Department, Juvenile Unit investigated eleven incidents involving approximately twenty-five juveniles. In these incidents, five juveniles were referred for criminal violations while the remainder of these juveniles were diverted to their parents or school authorities without any further police investigation.
The WPD Explorer program had two meetings during the month of April, 2007. The first meeting involved a practical crime scene investigation while the second was a practical in preparation for an explorer stations day taking place in May, 2007.
During the month of April, 2007 police dispatchers received and handled 796 E-911 emergency phone calls. Police dispatchers dispatched the Wethersfield Volunteer Ambulance and Aetna Ambulance to a total of 231 medical emergencies.
During April 2007, twenty-four persons were taken into custody and held requiring 434 hours of incarceration. Of the persons held, twenty-one were arrested by arrest warrant. Support Services personnel transported twenty-four prisoners to court. Transported to court were seventeen males and seven females. The seven females incarcerated by the department required 95 hours of matron coverage.
In late March, 2007 the Support Services Bureau Commander received a complaint from a Coppermill Road resident reporting speeding vehicles on this road. A speed monitoring device was placed on Coppermill Road for approximately ten days in April, 2007. A traffic study was completed. These findings were forwarded to the Police Chief and to the complainant.
In December, 2006 a Church Street resident petitioned the Town Manager about the possibility of making Church Place a one-way street in order to improve safety, specifically for children. A traffic study has been completed and the report was forwarded to the Town Manager. After reviewing the study, it was determined that Church Place would not be changed to a one-way street. However, as a result of the study, additional no parking signs are being erected on the east side of the street that will prohibit parking on the east side between the hours of 7 AM and 4 PM on school days. It is the goal of the Police Department to improve the safety of the children that use Church Place to walk to school.
In addition to Coppermill Road, traffic surveys were also conducted on Morrison Avenue and Hillcrest Avenue.
During the week of April 2, 2007 all sworn personnel, dispatchers, and matrons of the Police Department completed their annual CPR, AED, and Bloodborne/ Airborne Pathogens training. CPR certification is for a period of one year. Also, fifteen officers received First Aid training. First Aid training certification is current for a period of three years. These training classes were instructed by a certified POSTC instructor.
On Tuesday, April 3, 2007 a patrol officer, along with police canine Hunter, attended a one day training class entitled "Police Canine/ Police Canine Handler Training." The patrol officer and Hunter participated in this monthly canine training with several other area law enforcement canine teams. Training included evidence recovery and tracking.
On Wednesday, April 4, 2007 several members of the Capitol Region Emergency Services Team (CREST) including the Patrol Bureau Commander began attending monthly two-day training.
On Monday, April 16, 2007 a police dispatcher began attending a two day training class entitled "Advanced Law Enforcement Dispatch." Training was held at the Mashantucket-Pequot Tribal Police Department. Course topics include hysterical callers, domestic violence, simultaneous emergencies, officer down, officer safety, motor vehicle stops, suspect and vehicle descriptions and bomb threats.
On Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Chief James Cetran and the Detective Bureau Commander attended the "Capital Region Chief's of Police Recertification" training held in Rocky Hill, CT. This recertification program, which is required every three years, is open to Chiefs of Police and Second-in-Command Officers only. This month's topics include domestic violence, sexual violence, sexual harassment and hostile work environments. This course is held one day per month, concluding May, 2007.
On Friday, April 20, 2007 a D.A.R.E. Officer attended a one day class entitled "Connecticut D.A.R.E. Officers' Association Training Conference." Training was held at the Connecticut Police Academy, Meriden, CT. Training topics include updates to the D.A.R.E. curriculum and programs.
On Tuesday, April 24, 2007 the Training Sergeant began attending a two day class entitled "Taser Instructor Certification." This training was held at the New Britain Police Department. This certification course is required every two years. This certification enables the student to renew department members' certification on the Taser X26.
On Saturday, April 28, 2007 a police sergeant and officer attended a four hour training class entitled "Coast Guard Search & Rescue Methods of Operation." Training was held at the Department of Environmental Protection Headquarters, Old Lyme, CT. Course objectives include search techniques for rescue and recovery operations and Coast Guard resources and operations. This was part one of a two-part training. The second part, which has not yet been scheduled, is a practical portion which will be conducted on the Connecticut River with other search and rescue agencies.
On Monday, April 30, 2007 two police officers attended a one day training class entitled "Police Motorcycle Operator Training." Training was sponsored by the Hartford Police Department and held at the Connecticut Expo Center, Hartford, CT. Course objectives include operating the police motorcycles through obstacle courses, city roads and highways.
Support Services Bureau Officers continue to address citizen complaints involving traffic, parking and speed issues. Citizens regularly complain of a variety of different violations on various town streets and a several town schools. To address these complaints, Support Service Bureau officers conducted selective enforcement at Emerson Williams School, Charles Wright School and the Wethersfield High School on various dates in April, 2007. Citations and warnings were issued. Also, Support Service Bureau officers conducted selective enforcement for stop sign violations on Charter Road and on McMullen Avenue for speeding. Support Service Bureau officers also conducted patrol checks of Millwoods Park to include the skate park in order to curtail the vandalism that has been happening there.
Officers from the Wethersfield Police Department will be participating and aggressively enforcing seatbelt violations during the upcoming Annual "Click It or Ticket" enforcement period being held May 14, 2007 through June 3, 2007.
Spring Firearms training for all department personnel is scheduled for the week of May 21, 2007.
Annual shotgun and less lethal/ bean bag qualification for supervisors and command staff is scheduled for Thursday, May 24, 2007.
The Wethersfield Police Department, Training Unit, will be hosting a three day ICS-300 FEMA Program. This course will be held in the Police Community Room May 29 - 31, 2007.
Emergency personnel were dispatched to a total of eighty-nine alarms during the month of April, 2007 of which seventy-four were deemed to be chargeable alarms. Twenty locations were billed this month for violating the false alarm ordinance. Seventeen new alarm registrations were received from residents / businesses in the month of April, 2007. To date, there are a total of 803 locations with active alarm systems registered with the Police Department.
The following are the burglary and robbery statistics for the month of April, 2007 along with comparative statistics for the same period of last year. The figures in the parenthesis represent the number of cases cleared by arrest or in which the perpetrators have been identified.
| Criminal Activity | April 2006 | April 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Burglaries | 1 (0) | 2 (0) |
| Commercial Burglaries | 4 (0) | 1 (0) |
| Armed Robberies | 1 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Strong-arm Robberies | 1 (0) | 2 (0) |
