Police Department Monthly Report

James L. Cetran
Chief of Police

April, 2012

SPECIAL PROJECTS / ACHIEVEMENTS / INNOVATIONS:

On April 9, 2012 through April 12, 2012 two members of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) conducted an on-site inspection of the Wethersfield Police Department. This on-site inspection is done every three years and is done as part of its reaccreditation process. This on-site inspection included a thorough review of over four-hundred accreditation standards, an inspection of the police facility and interviews with the Chief of Police, command staff, supervisors as well as line officers. Preliminary reports are very favorable. Reaccreditation will be decided by the CALEA commission at their July, 2012 conference in Arizona.

The Wethersfield Police Department, Training Unit, hosted one day of the Capital Region Police Recertification - Supervisor Program on Thursday, April 12, 2012. This course was held in the WPD Community Room.

MONTHLY ACTIVITIES:

Patrol Division

Patrol Division (Cases of Interest)

On Sunday April 29, 2012 at 6:57 PM an officer stopped a car on the Berlin Turnpike north of Jordan Lane for having no front marker plate displayed. The officer smelled marijuana in the car. The driver said he last smoked marijuana in his vehicle the previous night. Suspecting there was marijuana in the car, the officer conducted a search of the interior of the car. The officer noticed that the center console to the vehicle was loose. The officer lifted it slightly to check for any contraband and noticed a small metallic black object. Upon checking this further, a Beretta .22 caliber handgun fell out onto the floorboard with a small glassine bag containing suspected marijuana (later weighed to be 0.4 grams.) The serial number on the handgun was checked and was found not to be stolen. There were six .22 caliber bullets in the magazine but no round in the chamber. The driver did not have a permit to carry a firearm. The driver was placed under arrest and charged with Possession of a Weapon in a Motor Vehicle (handgun) and Possession of less than 1/2 ounce of Marijuana. The driver was held on bond and was presented in court on April 30, 2012.

In April, 2012 patrol officers initiated at least ten cases in which arrests were made for persons being in possession of less than 1/2 ounce of marijuana. These marijuana charges are usually the result of traffic stops.

Detective Division

In April, 2012 members of the Detective Bureau initiated or were assigned follow up to thirty new cases. The major case investigations included eight burglaries, one sudden death, and eleven fraud/ identity theft cases. Detectives also continue to perform town background investigations and backgrounds for pistol permits applicants.

Detective Division (Cases of Interest)

A Wethersfield Police detective is investigating a large scale counterfeit check cashing ring. The suspects are split into several levels where one level of person(s) makes the check, one finds people to cash the checks and the check cashers themselves. The check maker was making counterfeit payroll checks and eventually getting people who would cash the fake checks. The checks cashers kept some of the money and gave the rest to the participants from the upper levels. The detective was able to identify people from all the levels and while working with other agencies was able to make arrests for making and cashing the checks.

Juvenile Unit

In April, 2012 the Juvenile Unit handled thirty-one incidents involving forty-two juveniles. In these incidents, four juveniles were arrested for criminal violations and ten juveniles were diverted to parental punishment and four were diverted to school-base punishment.

On Saturday, May 5, 2012 the Wethersfield Police Explorers will participate in the Connecticut Police Cadet Stations Day competition.

School Resource Officer

In April, 2012 the School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to the Wethersfield High School (WHS) reported covering fifteen incidents which were entered into the School Cop Database. These incidents resulted in fourteen case numbers, four incident reports, five supplemental reports and one infractions ticket. The SRO investigated three larceny complaints, two medical incidents and completed four case closure reports. The SRO reported two arrests at WHS during the month to include one arrest for Larceny Sixth Degree and issued an infractions ticket for Operating without a License.

The SRO also held mediations with WHS students who had disputes with one another in addition to handling a bullying incident at Charles Wright Elementary School. The SRO also reported locating an at-risk youth with the assistance from other agencies.

The SRO attended STARS/ SRBI meetings during the month of April pertaining to at risk students as well as attending an active shooter workshop which was held at Camp Niantic, Niantic, CT.

Finally, the SRO also participated in the Town of Wethersfield's Juvenile Review Board (JRB) in which juveniles who reside in town are diverted from the Juvenile Justice System to JRB.

Support Services Bureau

In April, 2012 Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department personnel were dispatched to twenty-six calls for service.

In April, 2012 there were 115 calls involving animal control issues. Of those calls, eighty-two were handled by the part-time animal control officers and thirty-three were handled by police officers. Six animals were impounded with five being redeemed and one adopted. Cases included one dog bite and one summons issued for allowing a dog to roam.

In April, 2012 the Wethersfield Volunteer Ambulance (WVAA) was dispatched to ninety-three medical emergencies and Aetna Ambulance to 178 medical emergencies for a total of 271 medical emergencies.

In April, 2012 Support Service Bureau personnel covered for a patrol vacancy on one shift.

In April, 2012 eighteen persons were taken into custody and held requiring 350 hours of incarceration. Of the persons held, twelve were arrested by warrant.

The Support Services Bureau Commander continues to receive requests for added or replacement road signs. Work orders completed in April, 2012 included installing a new "No Thru Trucks on Charter Road" sign on Town Line Road across from the truck exit at the Wal-Mart Plaza.

Support Services Bureau, Training Unit

On Wednesday, April 4, 2012 members of the Capitol Region Emergency Services Team (CREST), began attending monthly two-day training.

On Tuesday, April 10, 2012 a canine officer, along with his canine, Owen, attended a one day training class entitled "Police Canine/ Police Canine Handler Training." The canine officer and Owen participated in this monthly canine training with several other area law enforcement canine teams. Training included evidence recovery and tracking.

On Tuesday April 10, 2012 a detective attended a course entitled "Basic Crime Prevention Training." This training was held at the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden, CT. Course topics included crime prevention history and theory and types of crime trends and prevention.

On Tuesday, April 10, 2012 three dispatchers attended the one day "2012 Telecommunicator Conference." This conference was held at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell, CT. Training objectives included risk management, problems in the 911 Center and ten things that get 911 dispatchers in trouble.

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012 a detective and the school resource officer attended a course entitled "Active Shooter Workshop." This course was held at the CT National Guard Regional Training Institute, Niantic CT. Training objectives included educating participants on the history of active shooter events, communication with and accounting for employees and integrating public affairs into incident management.

On Tuesday April 17, 2012 a master police officer and an officer attended a course entitled "Civil Liability for Police." This training was held at the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden, CT. Course topics included Constitutional and statutory standards, non-lethal use of force, deadly use of force, equipment/weapons issues and training issues.

On Wednesday April 18, 2012 a lieutenant and a sergeant attended "DEEP's Annual Boating Law Enforcement Seminar." Course objectives included a review of new and current boating laws.

On Friday April 20, 2012 an officer attended a course entitled "Law Enforcement Active Diffusion Strategies (LEADS)." This training was held at the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden, CT. Course topics included how to recognize aggression and to not stimulate aggression. Students learn strategies where they can avoid or resolve interactions through de-escalation techniques.

On Thursday April 26, 2012 two detectives and an officer attended a one day recertification class entitled "NCIC/ COLLECT Recertification Training." Training was held at the Connecticut State Police Forensics Laboratory, Meriden, CT. This class is a recertification class for persons presently certified on the NCIC/ COLLECT computer system. Recertification is for a period of two years.

On Monday, April 23, 2012 two officers began attending the five day "Capital Region Police Officer Recertification Training." This training was held at the Middletown Police Department, Middletown, 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, April 23, 2012 an officer began attending a five day training class entitled "Crisis Intervention Team Training." This training was held at The Southeastern Mental Health Authority Building, Norwich CT. Training topics included mental illness, substance abuse, safe de-escalation techniques, suicide by cop, suicide assessment and prevention, excited delirium, child mental health and trauma and mental health and the law.

On Monday, April 23, 2012 a master police officer began attending a five day training class entitled "Crosshair International Sniper School." This training was held at Crosshair International, Keene, New Hampshire. Training topics included mental and physical preparation for becoming a certified marksman/observer. This is a very demanding course with mandatory qualification scores.

Administrative Services Bureau

In April, 2012 police personnel responded to sixty-three chargeable police related alarms to include sixty burglar alarms and three hold-up/ panic alarms. Locations included forty-four residential alarms and nineteen non-residential alarms. A total of 1,487 alarm permits are currently on file with the Police Department. During the month, fifty-five locations experienced a false alarm resulting in a 96% monthly compliance rate. This month there were 173 items of correspondence sent in connection with billing, registration and false alarm violations with $ 3,275 in alarm billing.

As of April 22, 2012 the Wethersfield Police Department has expended $365,001 on overtime this fiscal year. This is equivalent to 81% of the Department's total budgeted overtime for this fiscal year. In April, 2012 ninety shifts were staffed with no shifts staffed below critical staffing levels.

As of April 30, 2012 the Department has no police officer vacancies and is at its authorized strength of forty-seven sworn officers with two officers assigned to light duty.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Support Services Bureau officers continue 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 at several town schools. To address these complaints, officers performed selective enforcement at numerous locations throughout town. In April, 2012 officers performed selective enforcement sixteen different times and spent approximately 17.3 hours doing selective enforcement on these identified roads.

In April, 2012 a traffic study in the area of 49 Broad Street was initiated and completed utilizing a speed monitoring device for seven days. The speed limit in this area is posted at 30 MPH. During the 142.75 survey hours, 14,878 cars were recorded averaging 108 cars per hour. Results from the speed monitoring device showed an average speed of approximately 29.5 MPH, the 50th percentile speed of 31 MPH, the 85th percentile speed of approximately 37 MPH and a top speed of 57 MPH.

In April, 2012 a traffic study in the area of 62 Beverly Road was initiated and completed utilizing a speed monitoring device for ten days. The speed limit in this area is posted at 25 MPH. During the 216.25 survey hours, 12,364 cars were recorded, averaging fifty-seven cars per hour. Results from the speed monitoring device showed an average speed of approximately 25.5 MPH, the 50th percentile speed of 26 MPH, the 85th percentile speed of approximately 33 MPH and a top speed of 56 MPH.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Wethersfield Police Department, Training Unit, will be hosting one day of the Capital Region Police Recertification - Supervisor Program. This five day course, which began in January, will be held in the WPD Community Room on Thursday, May 17, 2012.

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 21, 2012 through June 3, 2012.

Spring Firearms training for all Department personnel is scheduled for the week of May 21, 2012. This includes annual shotgun and less lethal/ bean bag qualification for supervisors and command staff.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES: