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Middletown police chief reports rise in calls, praises narcotics team and outlines rollout of roadside drug-detection device
Summary
At a Middletown Police Commission meeting the police chief reported a small month-to-month increase in calls and part-one crimes, commended the narcotics team for a concluded case, and said the department received a state-provided roadside drug-detection device that will require policy and training before deployment.
The police chief told the Middletown Police Commission that the department handled 2,519 calls for service in April, a roughly 2% increase from the previous month, and investigated 46 part-one crimes — 13 violent and 33 property offenses. "Amazing, amazing work by our people," the chief said, singling out Sergeant Boddet and his team for their role in a recently concluded narcotics investigation.
The chief said the department has seen shifting patterns in call volume and theft-related crime and is using targeted traffic enforcement tied to a high-speed report from Urban SDK software to focus patrols on repeat complaint areas such as Bedford Avenue and South Street. He reported 478 traffic summonses for April, up from 279 the prior month, and 193 arrests (down from 204). On community policing, he noted the department hosted a spring youth leadership graduation with 23 graduates and has officers currently in academy and field training.
The chief also reviewed a small Nakba demonstration the department monitored over the weekend. He said staff located organizers, coordinated with them, and provided information on city rules; the event was largely peaceful, he said.
Commissioners pressed the chief for details about a new roadside sample device the department recently obtained through the state STOP-DWI program. The chief described it as a hand-held, swab-type instrument that cost "about $5,000–$6,000" and was provided through the state program at no cost to the department. "It's not conclusive," the chief said of the device. "So that's just a piece of roadside help to us with our other pieces of evidence to charge appropriately." He added that the device detects categories of drugs — including marijuana — and will augment standardized field sobriety observations and other roadside evaluations, but that conclusive lab testing would still be required for charges.
The chief said training and a written policy will precede deployment; the commission accepted the policy updates under a separate motion. Detective Bailey was named as leading follow-up on a separate shots‑fired investigation from April 4 on Wickham Avenue; the chief said there were no reported injuries at this time.
The meeting closed the public portion when the commission moved into executive session to discuss personnel matters.
