The big issue for anyone who attended candidates forums seemed to be public safety. Mayor Segarra constantly reiterated his commitment to Public Safety and making the City safe.
Well, now the election is done and apparently campaign promises mean nothing after the votes are cast.
In Wednesday's COMPSTAT meeting at the Hartford Police Department, department supervisors were told to be prepared for staff cuts and that their walk beats would all be pulled to back fill openings in the Patrol Division. According to sources, supervisors were told by outgoing Chief Daryl K. Roberts that this was only the "first wave" of cuts and was due to budget cuts by Mayor Segarra.
The timing seems quite interesting. In typical political form, we can now see that campaign promises mean nothing. Although "Public Safety" was the political catch phrase during the campaign, it seems that after the polls closed, 12 hours later, public safety can be put on the back burner for another 3 and a half years until the next election cycle.
Although patrol is the backbone of any Police Department, Community Service Officers and walkbeats play a huge role in crime control across the city. Those relationships are invaluable when it comes to controlling or reducing crime. In Hartford, walkbeats, CSO's and SRO's are a huge preventative measure. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the department and under staffing, the Patrol Division has been relegated to be almost exclusively reactionary.
Patrol Officers very rarely are given the time to be proactive or preventative in Hartford, they are too busy answering calls for service after incidents occur. That is not a knock on the patrol officers, it is just the reality that there aren't enough officers on the streets in Hartford.
Maybe rather than stripping walk beats and CSO's from neighborhoods, we should be looking at emptying out some of the 2nd floor at Jennings Road. Really, a detective to handle Freedom of Information requests? A Sergeant to handle backrubs and foot massages for Assistant Chief's? (and if you think I am kidding on that one, just wait until you see what is coming out soon).
Let's see how the voters that fell for empty promises made about Public Safety feel about their neighborhoods being stripped of their walk beat officers and Community Service Officers, while at the same time City Hall is about to be filled with more political appointments and cronies whose claim to fame is that they know how to drive the Mayor around or stick lawn signs in the ground for campaigns.
And I wonder if the Hartford Police Union is rethinking the promises made to them before the election for their endorsements as they head into almost two years without a contract. I would venture to say that is an issue that doesn't build morale or increase productivity and is only costing the City more as officers continue to leave for greener pastures in other Departments.
Will the voters remember in 2015? Probably not.
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11 comments:
we already dont have enough cops,as Chief DKR told me.." we need about 75 more cops to be at adaquate levels" this cutting by the Mayor will just add to the situation in which the safety of Hartford residents is in question.We pay high taxes and receive terrible services for our money.But yet, Mayor Segarra can spend about 250k to move the Corporation Counsel's office 1 flight at city hall.That 250 could have been used for a few more cops or for more police logistical support.
A case in point is this recent storm.A few months ago Mr Burnham who runs the DPW told me at the MARG NRZ meeting that Hartford does not have a tree pruning policy at all.Imagine how much less damage there would have been had Hartford had a tree pruning policy like all the other 168 towns and cities in Connecticut.
Bruce,
how many officers could we hire instead of the political hacks...I mean "assistants" that we are hiring for Panagore. That alone, including benefits, could come close to $750,000 for the four assistants advertised.
Maybe one would suffice and see how that works out? Leave the cops on the streets where we need them.
Kevin...I couldnt agree more.
Mayor Segarra's apparent priority appears to be to reward campaign hacks with cushy jobs to the detriment of the safety of Hartford residents.
Maybe if the Captains could "grab a hold of the Lieutenants" the police could work more efficiently. Lol. Unless they have been ordered not to, then violate the direct order of a deputy chief (twice), and then, of course, not be disciplined for violating the order three times....
Nice job, offer Dailey 3 days but don’t reprimand Bernier. THAT’S FAIR! Just ignore the zero tolerance policy some more.
Go ahead, keep sweeping the Bernier IAD under the carpet, have Davis white wash it, and keep it favorable to the administration. Ignore Dailey's complaints; trust me, that’s exactly what he wants you to do. Protecting Bernier and not being open and fair with Ifiles will be your legacy.
Why keep it all "Hush Hush"? Why not be open and up front with the whole thing. If it's fair and proper you should have nothing to hide. -But it’s not.
Nothing has changed. Discipline is targeted and vengeful. Those in your buddy group, like Bernier used to be, are protected. Then again, disciplining Bernier and being open about it is admitting your own failure, and in your eyes, subjecting the city to liability. At some point, somehow, this madness has to end. Just remember, Jeff Ment is taking thorough notes.
The PD has learned nothing from the Rudiwiciez report. Nothing.
Dont worry, the tax payers will pay.
"Patrol is the Backbone of the job", this phrase although on its face seems like an ideal we in the police world can embrace, however at HPD, this is a pure fallacy. At HPD, Patrol gets the sh*t end of the stick. The newly implemented ASAP system to hold officers (patrol only) accountable and eliminate any more Robles-like behavior, only affects those of us in the Patrol Division. The same guys&gals that were able to manipulate their respective schedules to work all the PJs and overtime still can and Patrol officers who have a regimented schedule cannot because they are held to a different set of rules and standards, which in the grand scheme of things, is not fair, not by a long shot. But that is business as usual at HPD. The ASAP system was destined to fail right from the onset. The only thing it accomplished was pad the coffers of the Auxiliary Services SGT who gets paid handsomely to pretend like this system is ever going to accomplish what it was created to do. NOT! As soon as Daryl retires in a month and a half, this ASAP BS is gonna be flushed down the toilet. One has to wonder, and at this point we'll never know is...what exactly was he doing when he was the C-Squad lieutenant that his traffic commander has carte blanche. He can continue to stomp all over the Code of Conduct and still keeps on truckin' and paying his boy to work the unposted assignments for twice the hours (at time and a half)than the fools working the posted jobs(ie,working the vet parade@7a reading the paper before we get there). The Rudewicz Report did absolutely nothing but get rid of a chief that stayed well beyond his time. It never touched on the real issues and they will never be addressed. Now they are talking about reassigning walkbeats and CSOs...so much for Community Oriented Policing. It's time to save a buck and f*ck the citizens. These are vital to public relations and crime deterrence. U wanna save on the overtime continue hiring until u get the proper number of cops, NOT take away the services that the citizens depend on. I'm not the smartest motherf*cker in the world but G*ddammit! It's not that hard. Hopefully they get a chief with no ties to Hartford who brings in his own crew. The discipline is not fair across the board and favoritism is just as prevalent as it ever was. I can continue but what purpose would it serve? They couldnt even get an outside investigator/consultant that did not have HPD ties to conduct a proper eval of the cesspool that is HPD.
Read the 2011-12 adopted budget, it calls for 30 new recruits to be hired for March 2012.
anon. 1:32pm,
are you a betting person? do you think it will happen?
At this point, I think we should give the mayor and others the benefit of the doubt on this issue.
last years adopted budget called for a new recruit class for June of 2011 and it happened.
In theses challenging times, most, are doing more with less.so it doesn't surprise me that the department is operating below past staff levels,
The Rudewicz report and others criticize that the department has been mis managed for quite some time.
I believe the department needs a fresh set of eyes to look at re-organizing and to look for ways to make it more efficient using the assets it has available and maybe through that exercise, we will learn what the actual need is from a management and staffing prospective.
Who knows, the department may have replace up to 20% of the current staff due to nonperformance related issues. I don't know if the Mayor will be that Aggressive, but it sounds like the department needs a good house cleaning.
Hopelessly devoted
Yes patrol has a set schedule and others not in patrol do have a flex schedule. Sometimes a flex schedule works to the favor for those assigned to a special unit. But being a flex schedule your boss can change your hours with little notice. This happens often to prevent ot. When in patrol your schedule can't be changed. In a specialized unit your plans you made with your family weeks in advanced often get changed the day before to cover events and criminal activity on a straight time basis. This often occurs while everyone else working an event (PR day parade, West Indy parade, etc.) Is getting paid overtime while you are on straight time.
So there are advantages and disadvantages to both.
Per Rudewicz Report, The agency has significant management issues.
Until the management issue has been resolved, the department will always be in complete chaos with low morale and high employee turnover rate.
like the saying, if nothing changes, nothing changes.
I believe that these changes can be made and that this department can change to better serve the community.
Is this based on the fact that there have been more homicides...or the fact that there have been more homicides...? JUST SAYING.
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