Police Department Monthly Report

James L. Cetran
Chief of Police

May, 2010

SPECIAL PROJECTS / ACHIEVEMENTS / INNOVATIONS:

The Wethersfield Police Department, Training Unit, hosted a one day training class entitled Powerphone's Protecting Law Enforcement Responders on Wednesday, May 19, 2010. This course was held in the WPD Community Room.

The Wethersfield Police Department, Training Unit, hosted one day of the Capital Region Police Recertification - Supervisor Program on Thursday, May 20, 2010. This course was held in the WPD Community Room.

During the period May 24, 2010 through June 6, 2010 officers from the Wethersfield Police Department participated in the bi-annual "Click It or Ticket" campaign. The "Click It or Ticket" campaign is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the State of Connecticut, Department of Transportation. The goal of the campaign is to increase the use of seat belts. During this period, Wethersfield Police officers issued 123 seatbelt citations, two child seat citations and sixty-three seatbelt violation warnings.

MONTHLY ACTIVITIES:

Patrol Division

Patrol Division (Case of Interest)

On May 23, 2010 at about 1:15 AM officers were dispatched to a restaurant located in Old Wethersfield on the report of a fight in progress. Officers received information, while enroute, that there may be a gun involved in the incident. On arrival, the first officer saw two people fighting. The officer approached the two persons and was told that one of the males fighting was trying to stop the other male from pulling out a gun. One of the two male combatants was arrested however it was found that he did not, in fact, have a gun. A second person, who employees pointed out, was also arrested for a separate fight. An investigation revealed that two males and a female were in the bar area of the restaurant when two other males came in. One of the males made rude comments to another man's girlfriend. The rude male punched one of the patrons and threw a glass at him. Others from the group calmed everybody down. Later, the second group of males left but eventually came back. One male threatened to shoot the other male. The male who felt threatened tackled the male who he believed had a gun and fought with him until police arrived. The male who threatened to shoot the male did not have a gun and was only using the threat to intimidate the other male. A second fight broke out and another male was arrested from this incident.

Detective Division

In May, 2010 members of the Detective Division initiated or were assigned follow-up to twenty-three new cases. Major case investigations included one burglary, one sexual assault, one untimely death, six larcenies, five frauds and two forgeries. The fraud and forgery cases involve the use of bad checks and the illegal use of credit cards. Detectives also continue to perform town background investigations and background investigations for pistol permit applicants.

Juvenile Unit

In May, 2010 the Wethersfield Police Department Juvenile Unit handled twenty-five incidents involving thirty-five juveniles. In these incidents, three juveniles were arrested for criminal violations, thirteen were diverted to parental discipline and two were diverted to school punishment.

In May, 2010 the Wethersfield Police Explorers participated in the Connecticut Police Cadet Stations Day competition. The Explorers performed well achieving a 2nd place, and two 3rd place awards in the events.

School Resource Officer

In May, 2010 the School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to the Wethersfield High School covered nineteen incidents and activities at the school. These nineteen incidents and activities resulted in eleven case numbers, eight incident reports and one accident report. Incidents include five larcenies, one vandalism, one bullying/ harassment report and an incident report for interfering with a police officer. Two arrests were made during the month; the first for Larceny Sixth Degree and the second for Interfering with a Police Officer.

The SRO also handled incidents involving mediation, mentoring of students, truancy issues, bullying issues and trespassing issues at Silas Deane Middle School involving Wethersfield High School students. The SRO was also interviewed by three students for a physical education classroom project.

Support Services Bureau

In May, 2010 Wethersfield Communications Unit personnel dispatched the Wethersfield Volunteer Ambulance to eighty medical emergencies and Aetna Ambulance to 238 medical emergencies for a total of 318 medical emergencies.

In May, 2010 Wethersfield Communications Unit personnel dispatched the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department to forty-two calls for service.

In May, 2010 there were fifty-four calls involving animal control issues. Of those calls, twelve were handled by a part-time animal control officer and forty-two were handled by police officers.

In May, 2010 fourteen persons were taken into custody and held requiring 224 hours of incarceration. Of the persons held, four were arrested by warrant. Support Services personnel transported fourteen prisoners to court to include thirteen males and one female.

The Support Services Bureau Commander continues to receive requests for added or replacement street signs. Work orders completed in May, 2010 include installing "Cross Traffic Does Not Stop" signs on the stop signs at the intersection of Stillwold Drive/ Longvue Drive and installing three "No Parking Anytime" signs on the north side of Wilcox Avenue.

Support Services Bureau, Training Unit

On Wednesday, May 5, 2010 four Department members of the Capitol Region Emergency Services Team (CREST) began attending monthly two-day training.

On Thursday, May 6, 2010 two lieutenants attended a one day training class entitled "Legal Training on Housing Matters." This training was held at the Connecticut Police Academy, Meriden, CT. Topics included lockouts and self-help evictions, unlawful entry, no-heat and termination of essential services and criminal damage to a landlord's property.

On Monday, May 10, 2010 an officer began attending a four day training class entitled "Safariland Less Lethal Munitions Instructor." This training was held at New Haven Police Department, New Haven, CT. This training provides instructor development for in-service training, including reviews of policy development and civil/criminal liabilities. This officer is the senior WPD Firearms Instructor.

On Monday, May 10, 2010 three officers began attending the five day "Capital Region Police Officer Recertification Training." This training was held at the Farmington Police Department, Farmington, CT. This forty hour class is mandatory every three years to keep officers certified in the State of Connecticut. The training encompasses a wide variety of topics including legal updates, bias crimes, patrol procedures, emotionally disturbed persons, suicide prevention, juvenile law and domestic violence laws.

On Monday, May 17, 2010 an officer attended a one day training class entitled "Current Drug Trends." This training was held at the Connecticut Police Academy, Meriden, CT. The objective of this course is to present an in-depth look at and offer hands-on training on the identification of various controlled and non-controlled substances and their associated paraphernalia.

On Monday, May 17, 2010 an officer began attending a five day training class entitled "DWI Enforcement." This class was held at the Connecticut Police Academy, Meriden, CT. This forty hour class covered topics such as identifying driver behavior associated with DWI operation, understanding and conducting NHTSA approved field sobriety tests and understanding state statutes and case law dealing with DWI enforcement.

During the week of May 17-21, 2010 the WPD Training Unit conducted "Spring 2010 Firearms Training." Forty-three officers participated in this training. Training was held at the Berlin Police/ Mattabasset Gun Range, Berlin, CT. Officers were required to complete a sixty round qualification course, which all officers successfully passed. Officers also completed two point-instinctive courses. The first point-instinctive course emphasized moving and shooting. The second point-instinctive course emphasized close quarter combat shooting while under timed, stressful circumstances. Officers were required to take a written test on the nomenclature of the Glock handgun. All officers passed this test. Eleven Officers also qualified with the Colt AR-15 patrol rifle. Several officers were also certified in non-Division issued firearms.

During the week of May 17-21, 2010 the WPD Training Unit conducted "Spring 2010 Mossberg Shotgun and Less Lethal Training." Training was held at the Berlin Police/ Mattabasset Gun Range, Berlin, CT. Twenty officers participated in this training. Training included qualification on the Department shotgun, Mossberg, Model 590A1, less lethal sock rounds as well as training scenarios with the less lethal ammunition.

On Wednesday, May 19, 2010 four dispatchers attended a one day training class entitled "Protecting Law Enforcement Responders." This training, instructed by Powerphone, Inc., was hosted by the Wethersfield Police Department Training Unit and held in the WPD Community Room. Course topics included felonious line of duty deaths, high-risk crimes and incidents in progress, dispatcher tactics to protect officers, radio dispatch procedures and etiquette and critical incident stress debriefing.

On Monday, May 24, 2010 a detective began attending a five day training class entitled "Post-Blast Bomb Investigator School." This training was held at various locations throughout the state of Connecticut. The objective of this training is to provide instruction on how to prepare for, and conduct, a post-blast crime scene investigation. This detective assists the Town Fire Marshall with arson investigations.

On Tuesday, May 25, 2010 a sergeant and an officer attended one day "CREST- Dive Team" training. This training was held in Hartford, CT. This training is conducted on a monthly basis with several other area law enforcement agencies that comprise CREST. This month's activities included an evidence recovery dive.

On Tuesday, May 25, 2010 the School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to the Wethersfield High School attended a one day training class entitled "Play By the Rules - Train the Trainer." Training was held in Cromwell, CT. This is a program designed to teach Connecticut laws to youth. It covers over 200 laws in specific areas including criminal and civil law, drugs and alcohol, weapons, juvenile justice and family and school law. This officer received instructor development in order to teach this course to other law enforcement officers.

On Wednesday, May 26, 2010 the School Resource Officer assigned to Wethersfield High School attended a one day training class entitled "Gang Identification and Drug Detection for School Resource Officers." This training was held at the Connecticut Police Academy, Meriden, CT. Objectives of this training addressed current drug usage and behaviors, current gang activity and how to deal with non-compliant students.

Administrative Services Bureau

In May, 2010 police personnel responded to fifty-one police related alarms to include fifty burglar alarms and one hold-up/ panic alarm. Locations included twenty-six residential locations and twenty-four non-residential alarms. A total of 1,376 alarm permits are currently on file with the Police Department. During the month, forty-four locations experienced a false alarm resulting in a 96% compliance rate. This month there were sixty-nine items of correspondence sent in connection with billing, registration and false alarm violations with $ 1,150 in alarm billing.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

In May, 2010 the Wethersfield Police Department Child Seat Technician inspected/installed nineteen child seats. The Support Services Division receives requests for this service via the Wethersfield Police Department web site as well as phone requests.

The Support Services Bureau continues to address citizen complaints involving traffic, parking violations and other motor vehicle violations. Citizens regularly complain of a variety of different violations on various town streets and several town schools. To address these complaints, officers performed selective enforcement at numerous locations throughout town. In May, 2010 officers performed selective enforcement forty-two times and spent a total of thirty-one hours doing selective enforcement on various roads in town.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

The Wethersfield Police Department, Training Unit, will be hosting a five day Capital Region Police Recertification course beginning on Monday, June 14, 2010. This course will be held in the WPD Community Room.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES: