Chief reports staffing, warrant backlog cut and tech rollouts at Norwalk Police Commission

Chief Walsh briefed the Norwalk Police Commission on staffing, operational metrics and upcoming technology rollouts at the June 15 meeting.

The chief said the department had 181 sworn personnel as of May 31, 2026, with certain officers on administrative leave or restricted duty. He reported that when Officer Brian Deak began work in the complaint/warrant bureau in 2023 the inventory included well over 600 hard-copy arrest warrants; after a multi-year review and coordination with prosecutors that inventory is now about 300 hard-copy warrants. The chief credited work to review warrants, coordinate with prosecutors and bring some cases to surrender or administrative vacation for minor offenses.

Walsh also described planned technology rollouts intended to improve service and reporting: a NextG VIF (vital information first) household-registration option that would let residents record special-needs information accessible to first responders via a QR workflow, and a PowerBI dashboard integrated with the CAD system to provide updated reporting; both were targeted for implementation on July 1. He reported delivery of a second animal-control van and provided a breakdown of salary and overtime spending — including $414,463 in school-security expenditures year-to-date and salary/overtime year-to-date figures used for internal tracking.

The chief and deputies said training and staffing metrics were stable, with several officers in academy training and ongoing monitoring of overtime across divisions. Commissioners asked no substantive follow-up questions during the executive report segment.

Provenance: Chief’s executive and administrative reports delivered during the meeting provided the figures and program rollouts.