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New Canaan police report staffing shortfalls, increased traffic enforcement and cybercrime training
Summary
At the Oct. 15 Police Commission meeting, department staff reported minimum-shift staffing 68% of the time in September, discussed dedicated traffic enforcement arrangements, cited increased cybercrime reporting and noted recent training and personnel changes including an upcoming return from military leave.
Department staff told the New Canaan Police Commission on Oct. 15 that traffic enforcement and cybercrime enforcement have increased and that staffing pressures remain a factor in how those duties are assigned.
A police department representative said the department has dedicated an officer to handle downtown traffic complaints for the remainder of the year and is planning to reassign that responsibility in January. "The officer that takes it has to be very flexible, comes in early, ... and sometimes there's serious problem, then officer Ronald responding to the problems," the representative said, describing the workload and public-facing duties tied to traffic complaints.
Commission members and staff discussed the use of an ARC camera and other enforcement tools and said better reporting and training contributed to higher recorded incident numbers. The department reported that staffing met minimum-shift levels 68% of the time in September; staff said two vacancies were recently filled and that an officer on long-term military leave is expected to return in November.
The commission noted training developments: Officer Lopez completed a course focused on cybercrime and staff said that led to increased reporting and investigative capacity. "We have officer Lopez has taken course that specifically focused on it. You can see the numbers went from, you know, basically doubled," the representative said.
No formal staffing actions or budget changes were adopted during the Oct. 15 meeting. The discussion described operations and staffing plans and included a request to continue monitoring enforcement outcomes and staffing impacts into the winter holiday season.
