I think the letter below speaks for itself. Hartford's Police Officers deserve a contract, bottom line.
HPU Op-ed A by on Scribd
HPU Op-ed A by on Scribd
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6 comments:
Jenna Carleso is on a constant mission to destroy HPD. She is NOT our friend. Remember that whenever you see her. She destroys HPD regarding contracts, pensions and the union with false information. Yet foley puts her on a pedestal.
I do agree that Hartford police Officers are paid well below the market rate for Hartford county and that needs to change. But the dept needs to privatize many functions such as the jail can be run by a private contractor for example which would translate into serious savings. Also we need to explore the idea of per diem cops so overtime costs can be significantly cut down and that would involve loosening some postc regulations. Bottom line is we need a lean police dept.
4:58 PM,Your another one who just doesn’t see the bigger picture or just doesn’t get it ! Privatize many functions? The funniest ironic statement is “we need a lean police dept” HOW ABOUT A CAPITAL CITY LEAN OF CRIMINALS! As we see everyday in the news Hartford is “breeding” teenage criminals at a pace never seen before ! I’m sure by the time these juvenile shitbags are in their 30’s they’ll have a prominent street name ,5 kids they don’t care for and the obligatory 30 or more arrests on their file! Obviously you can’t add ,so let me help,,,,,Murderers+Car thieves+Gangbangers+Drug sellers+Drug runners +Drug users+Stolen ATV/Dirtbike riders+Domestic abuse offenders+Chid neglect offenders+Drivers under the influence +Unlicensed/Uninsured drivers+Animal abusers+Prostitutes+Pimps+John’s+Hartford’s corrupt Mayor’s and politicians +criminal behavior from employees from ALL departments = MORE POLICE !!!!!!!!!
The Hartford Police Department men and women are under attack from the very city it serves. 20 calls a night for a patrol officer is an easy night, streets run by crooks in so many locations that police can't keep track. I could name several locations I see every day infested with decades long crooks and criminals but some of the anonymous detractors would accuse me of being "old school" again. Not that I mind that term much because if old school is clearing the streets of criminals, locking up known armed felons and gang members and making the majority of law abiding citizens safe from crooks, creeps, repeat offenders than I am all in.
The Mayor does not value the service given to the City Residents by the men and women of the Police Department and his disdain shows. Politicians are always ready to extol police efforts when things go bad but will throw everyone under the bus when things do not. All the time.
Remember the several years that the police union took zero raises to help the city finances. We ate that crap then and should never do that again. When West Hartford and Bloomfield entry level officers are making thousands more in a year than the Hartford Police who have a greater call for service rate then something is wrong
The department is down over 100 officers. Can't enact too many new efforts with that shortage of police manpower.
Finally the idea of a "lean Police Department" is the the idea of someone not familiar with anything with policing and I am positive that crime victims won't take the excuse that slow response time or no response to calls for service is because the department is now a "lean" department. Nonsense.
Chris,
The problem is that you comment from a point of knowledge as opposed to many others that think they understand the PD but actually have no clue. I recently had a conversation with a resident who thought he knew everything about HPD and was very free with his critical opinions. He said the same thing about too many cops and we need to cut. Just to see how much he knew, I asked him how many cars are on the street per shift and how he would cut back. He quickly responded that he wasn't exactly sure of the numbers, but he thought it was between eighty and 100 cars per shift. After I finished laughing, I asked him if he would be surprised to know that for a violent City like Hartford, plagued with gun violence,it is usually closer to 20 cars (patrol officers)per shift and one serious incident such as a shooting, a bad accident, or a structure fire could tie up one-quarter of those cars for hours. Have two incidents going on and we are in trouble with resources.
And those 20 cars are on a good night when everything is filled and HPD doesn't fall below "minimum" staffing numbers, which happens reguarly now.
This resident was also surprised to hear that routine calls typically can be held for two or three hours before an Officer is even dispatched, and that's a best case scenarion.
People need to take advantage of the opportunities to learn about THEIR Police Department before they criticize. Attending a Public Compstat would be a good start . It won't teach everything, but just looking at a Spotshotter activation map will be an eye opener to most people. Or hearing about the number of missing persons being investigated, sex trafficking, sex offender compliance, and everything that still goes on day in and day out, whether fully staffed or not.
Residents need to hear a dispatcher on the radio calling out "can anyone clear? I have a gun call" or maybe a shooting and no one answers because there is no one free just sitting around eating a donut and drinking their coffee like many residents think.
Until crime starts spreading into the neighborhood around Elm and Clinton, then maybe the Mayor will start paying attention.
It is also very interesting talking to retired officers who have left and gone to suburban Departments to start their "retirement" careers. Where they would run ragged from one call to the next in Hartford and write 6 or 8 case reports in Hartford , they now maybe write 2 cases a week in their suburban towns. And they also have the time to actually take a meal break and unwind during their shift. And what town wouldn't hire a Hartford retiree? Hartford Officers typically see more in their first year on the job than many suburban Officer's see in their entire career. And Hartford Officers still make less, that's the reality, sad as it is.
The only time most politicians will walk through the door of the Union Office or engage Police Officers is at election time when they are looking for endorsements. Maybe they should spend a couple shifts with actual Police Officers to learn what they are talking about
What is the base rate for a full pay patrol officer, and what is the average salary for officers in the surrounding towns. All the cops I know are doing well, now maybe not on base pay but with almost unlimited opportunity for PJ's they make out just fine. And it used to be a lot of that OT went to pension, don't know how the OT shakes out in pension these days. But I do know I retired from HFD at captains rate and it is no where near the 125-150 K that a lot of cops get. And although cops don't have "paid Medical" which is not free by the way, they do get a stipend toward their medical and with a good pension can afford pretty good coverage. Now me on the other hand, I have decent coverage, but I am limited to the plan I had while on the job, where cops can got shopping for what they want, or am I wrong? Please correct me if so as I would like to be educated like you suggested.
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