Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Old Saybrook police report: staffing changes, training updates and a cold-case collaboration
Summary
Captain Joe M. Crawford told the commission that the department certified two new dispatchers but still has two vacancies out of nine, plans a demo of a scheduling app, is expanding bicycle patrols and training (including autism awareness), and will work with the state's attorney's cold-case unit on several older Old Saybrook cases.
Captain Joe M. Crawford gave the police department's monthly report to the Old Saybrook commission, describing staffing, training and community-policing developments. He said the department recently certified two additional dispatchers and currently has two vacant dispatcher positions out of nine. Crawford said recruitment and training remain active and that the department hopes to demo a new "Hero" scheduling app next month.
Crawford also described plans to participate with the state's attorney's cold-case unit, naming State's Attorney Pat Griffin and prosecutor Seth Gabarski as part of that effort. "They asked me to see if I can join," Crawford said, adding that the review could leverage advances in DNA technology to seek closure on a small number of older unsolved cases in Old Saybrook.
The captain reviewed department training: several officers are enrolled in POST University courses and the department completed a Connecticut POST audit that appears to move the audit cycle to every three years. He estimated EMT classes for officers will finish in late July or early August. Crawford and commissioners also praised a recent autism-awareness training (the "Blue Bridge" program); the presenter cited a 2.2% prevalence of autism among adults and urged careful observation and different engagement tactics for people on the spectrum.
On community policing, Crawford said the bicycle-patrol detail has received "a lot of positive public feedback" and that officers have been visible around the beaches and neighborhoods. He reviewed upcoming public-safety operations, including assistance to Middletown for a fireworks event and a July 3—6 DUI enforcement campaign with high-visibility patrols.
Crawford noted fleet procurement and activity statistics: three patrol vehicles are being built with six more on order, and monthly activity statistics showed a recent downward trend that the department attributes to training schedules and officer leave. "We're still working on a way to kind of get those numbers up," he said.
The commission did not take formal action on the report; Crawford and staff agreed to provide additional details on specific items (such as the scheduling-app demo and dispatcher recruitment) at future meetings.
