Public Safety

Cameras Don’t Lie

New Haven project will aid in solving crime

Often, when openly discussing the idea of cameras in public spaces, images out of George Orwell’s 1984 are conjured in the imagination. So when New Haven argued that it wanted to purchase 500 additional surveillance cameras, it was met with pushback from some constituents who felt this was a step towards an Orwellian future. Others felt that not only will this be a useful tool in solving crime, but it also has the possibility to prevent crime.

The proposal began as part of the pandemic-relief money that was given to all towns and cities. New Haven already had about 200 cameras, which pales in comparison to Connecticut’s other large cities. Hartford for instance has 1200, while Bridgeport has 1,600 according to figures reported in the New Haven Independent.

New Haven already had about 200 cameras, which pales in comparison to Connecticut’s other large cities. Hartford for instance has 1200, while Bridgeport has 1,600

But these cameras are not simply a matter of keeping up with the joneses. New Haven has a lower closure rate than these cities, and often the issue isn’t that the police don’t have credible leads, but simply that they do not have evidence that will stand up in court or community members are reticent to share information with the police.

During a press conference on the subject, Mayor Justin Elicker noted one strong advantage: “Cameras don’t lie.”

That is an ongoing reason why police more and more are relying on video evidence from all manner of sources.

One obvious resource are police body cameras. Mandated to be worn by all police, it is generally accepted that the footage these cameras collect protect both the police officer and the public from any abuse of power.

But towns and cities across the country are increasingly looking towards cameras not installed by the municipality, but the public themselves. These cameras come in the form of doorbells and other such devices that homeowners install to protect their homes. And with this valuable resource police departments, including several in Connecticut, have asked homeowners to become part of their database of cameras.

The way it works is that the police don’t have access to the cameras 24/7, but if a suspect robs a bank and travels through a neighborhood, they could then ask the homeowners along the route to share the video to accurately trace the vehicles path.

While the fictional world presents a cautionary tale against Big Brother style spying on everyday citizens, the real world presents a different kind of tale. It’s one where people prefer to have the record reflect the truth, honestly and accurately. Even the best-intentioned citizen does not have the recall of a camera record.

There’s no guarantee that cameras will be a cure-all for the city’s problem, and more than one individual in the city said they were just one tool in the toolbox. But for New Haven, it’s important that those tools are available when they are needed most.

Truly A Rescue Mission

New Milford will help struggling residents during difficult times

When CCM says that the ARPA funds are going to be transformative for towns and cities, what we really mean is that they are going to make a difference in the lives of residents of this great state. New Milford has recently approved a plan that will prove the value of these federal dollars by helping their residents.

The Town Council voted at a recent meeting to approve funds from the American Rescue Plan to help folks who suffer from addiction. The total amount of approved funds will go to four recovery houses – Heritage Inn Recovery Residence, Phoenix House, Grace House, and Hope House.

During the pandemic, the need for addiction services went up, as did deaths from overdoses. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, nearly 100,000 individuals died over the course of 12 months from substance abuse, which is an all-time high.

While a death is the most severe outcome, the addiction affects many other areas of an individual’s life before it comes to that. They noted in an article on the issue that “Amid the pandemic, mental health and substance use disorders have worsened, in some cases significantly, including the use of alcohol and recreational drugs during the workday.”

And as the economic recovery surges on, many of the protections that were once in place are being removed. Protections like the eviction moratorium ending pose a real threat to individuals who have struggled throughout the pandemic.

These recovery residences are not run by the town, but the town does play a crucial role in the full recovery of individuals that need this help.

Justin Cullmer, who began work as the Community Care Coordinator just before the pandemic, works to make connections for these individuals. From a CT Insider article, they say his job evolved during this time into “keeping people in their homes - permanently.”

Through the Coordinated Access Network and other services, he helps these individuals seek out resources that are already available to them. Food banks, energy assistance and other state programs are noted in the Insider article.

As Town Council member Hilary Ram is quoted as saying in that article, “the work that the sober-living residences provides is what ARPA funding ‘is intended to do,’ which is help people who are struggling.”

It’s been a difficult two years for all of us. For many though, it has been triggering for past addictions or overwhelming. New Milford is providing that essential bridge from hopelessness to hope by providing these vouchers.

Grant Enables Social Work Solutions

Stamford will hire more social workers for police force

Over the last two year, our nation has had a sometimes difficult conversation over policing. Though there have been disagreements over which direction we should be taking our police departments, one area that has seen support from many sides is the addition of social workers to the force to aid in public safety. Stamford has recently been awarded a grant to continue this expansion of their Community Response Initiative.

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Justice Department in the amount of $550,000 over three years to hire a social worker that will ride along with police during calls that are more in line with their capabilities.

One line we’ve heard often over the past two years is that we’ve expected our police force to take on more and more expertise while still performing their basic duties. So when responding to calls that involve mental health or substance abuse challenges, the person best able to respond would look more like a social worker than a police officer.

Many departments around the nation began to wonder, why don’t we simply hire social workers to engage with these challenges and respond to these calls?

These social workers will be wearing many hats themselves. From the original grant, Stamford says that they will use the funds to “hire additional Master of Social Workers (MSW) from our mental health partner, the Recovery Network of Program (RNP) to embed in the Police Department, to, when safe and appropriate, respond to calls for service with the Police Behavioral Unit (BHU), to conduct mental health assessments, coordinate care, referrals and assertive linkage for Emotionally Disturbed Persons (EDP). Other activities include; conducting a systems-wide needs assessment to identify service gaps, assigning a Project Manager to manage the CRI, enhancing training for all relevant staff, conducting an extensive outreach campaign to engage a host of cross sector service providers, conducting Mental Health Fairs, and employing a robust social media campaign and a progressive training regimen, as well as working with BJA Technical Assistance.”

Stamford has asked that question, and the funds from this grant will actually go towards the second social worker to be aligned with the police force. Not only do they ride along on appropriate calls, but they also follow up with individuals in some situations, which can lead to preventing that second call.

The grant will be applied over the course of three years and some of the funds will go towards helping the traditional force secure training as well as mental health fairs and outreach programs.

With even just one social worker assisting the force, calls have already decreased, a sign that the program is working. For Stamford, this can only be seen as a positive development. At the end of the day, keeping people safe is what it’s all about.

Tie Dye And Wellness

Greenwich pairs up with Liberation Programs for mobile wellness unit

When the Liberation Programs “Mobile Wellness Van” rolls up, it’s hard to miss the vehicle or the team. Bedecked in tie-dye that wouldn’t be out of place at a Grateful Dead concert, they’ve come to Greenwich with a mission to save lives.

The program has been in operation since 1971, with outposts already in Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford, and Westport. Specializing in substance use disorders, they report that they have served more than 2,400 individuals in their last fiscal year.

A lot of that is due to the ongoing opioid crisis, which has affected people in every corner of America. In the Greenwich Free Press, John Hamilton, CEO of Liberation Programs, said “Addiction is an equal opportunity disease. It affects all ages, all socio-economic classes, both genders, sadly, the same way. We’re here to meet people where they are in Greenwich.”

That is where the van comes in. It’s so bright and colorful so that people can see it and recognize it. Every Tuesday, the van will be parked near an I-95 exit, but that location can change depending on where the folks at Liberation Programs and town leaders in Greenwich feel it is needed. This is important because many individuals need to understand their addictions before recovering from them. And sometimes unfortunately, individuals will need Narcan or other interventions before they ultimately accept that there is a problem.

Also in the Free Press article, Hamilton said that they can’t force people into a recovery program and expect them to change overnight.

“That means that for some, this may be the year of recovery. We can start their recovery process, but we also know that this may not be the year of recovery, but our goal is to keep people alive to continue to engage them,” he is quoted as saying.

From the mobile van, “Liberation provides services for adults, youth, and families that include two inpatient treatment programs, outpatient and intensive outpatient services, health education for older adults and people living with HIV/ AIDS and other chronic illnesses, treatment and resources for adolescents and their families, education and prevention efforts in the community, mobile harm reduction services, and permanent supportive housing for families.”

While the tie-dye might be fun, the work that Liberated Programs does is serious. Many towns that have a partnership with an organization like Liberated know the benefits of the human interactions that they provide. Each person they interact with is another person that can be saved from the throes of addiction.

High Tech Prevents High Speed Chase

Newington police try out StarChase High Speed Pursuit Alternative

The device might look like something out of a James Bond movie. Instead of leading a life of danger like the Secret Agent Man, the StarChase High Speed Pursuit Alternative Technology aims to lower danger during high speed chases. Newington Police recently announced that they will be the first in the state to implement this technology.

It’s fairly common sense that high speed chases are dangerous. Worse than one car going over the speed limit is several cars going over the speed limit. Even with sirens blaring, each car added during a chase increases the chance that one will be involved in an accident.

So how do you eliminate the need for a high speed chase while still maintaining some semblance of control over the situation? You shoot a gps tracker out of the front grill of your police car, of course.

The StarChase technology employs a simple system of vehicle mounted launchers and GPS tracking tags that can be utilized during high speed chases so that police could back away from the chase while still monitoring the location of the suspect’s vehicle through an integrated tracking application.

By backing off, the pursued car usually slows down thinking that they are in the clear. This gives the police time to monitor the situation, gain an idea of where the pursued are heading and plan for a safe arrest of the individual.

Early on after the technology was first introduced, there were some concerns about Fourth Amendment compliance, and StarChase asked the American Civil Liberties Union to assess the technology, and they were overall supportive with few caveats.

In a press release from 2014, they said: “We don’t see any problem with this technology, assuming that it is used in the kind of way that everybody probably imagines it being used. In other words, that: • It is used only in police chases that commence when a police officer has the equivalent of probable cause of wrongdoing (even if just fleeing a temporary detention like a traffic stop) and do not have time to get a warrant. • The device is removed and the location tracking ends the first time the police catch up to the person they are chasing. • The police catch up to the suspect as soon as they can (in other words, no letting them wander around for extended periods of time without pursuing them, in order to learn things about them).”

Newington purchased this device with a Justice Assitance Grant from the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management’s Violent Crime Prevention bureau, according to an article from the New Britain Herald.

The town has not changed any of their policies regarding chases, per that article. With the rise in auto thefts, it could prove to be a valuable tool in asset recovery, they said, while minimizing risk.

Carnival With A Soul

Orange Firemen’s Carnival Came Back Better

It’s hard to put into words just how incredible the response has been to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state of Connecticut. Over 80% of Connecticut residents over 18 had their first shot by the end of July. But we haven’t reached herd immunity quite yet, so municipalities around the state have to meet people where they are to get them vaccinated. One example of this thinking comes in the form of a carnival.

The Orange Firemen’s Carnival is a yearly benefit to the town’s volunteer fire department, with roots for both the carnival and department going back nearly a century.

Due to COVID, the Carnival had to be cancelled in 2020, the first time since World War II according to the organizers of the event.

Although the raffles – which included prizes like a $10,000 gift card – were still held, the lack of a carnival left a budget shortfall for the department.

In a statement on last year’s cancellation, Fire Chief Vaughn Dumas said that while in the past the Carnival could cover most of the budget, but with everything being more expensive it would be hard to keep up.

Fortunately, despite an uptick related to the Delta variant, Connecticut has been extremely successful in mitigating outbreaks. From mask mandates to vaccine outreach, cases have been low enough to hold our beloved summer events.

This is where the vaccine comes in. It was arranged by Annemarie Sliby, executive director of the Orange Economic Development Corporation (OEDC) according to the New Haven Register.

The idea is simple – match a popular event that attracts thousands of people, and try to get some of the vaccine hesitant or those that just haven’t gotten it yet, by offering them free rides at the carnival.

The partnership with the OEDC, Fire Department, and Griffin Hospital, administered either the Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines to those eligible to receive it (essentially all people 12 years and older who have not already received the vaccine).

Reaching those final people who have so far not received the vaccine is the only surefire way to make sure that our state and the country successfully reopens.

It has been said in the pages of CT&C before, but the work that our municipalities, our state leadership, and most importantly, the residents of Connecticut have done is a model for the rest of the country. With innovative ideas like this one from the town of Orange, we’ll be able to enjoy our carnivals and fairs.

Reaching People Where They Are

New Milford app adds new tech to notify its residents on the go

One obvious thing about us here at Connecticut Town & City is that we like to keep our readers informed with important updates and innovative ideas. So when a town implements a new program to do that for their residents as New Milford did with their Notify New Milford, then we have to highlight it.

The concept is simple – residents or individuals who find themselves in New Milford often can sign up for text messages and phone calls that will update them on crucial up-to-date information. This includes things like severe weather reports and missing persons reports, or even simple things like road closures and town events. Through Notify New Milford, individuals can decide how many notifications that they’d like to receive.

And because people are everywhere these days, they give you multiple options to receive the messages – home phone numbers for those that still have it, text messages and calls to your mobile phones, emails and other alerts.

The whole thing is powered by the Everbridge App, which allows people to receive messages even on a geo-targeted basis – like for instance if you enter an area where there’s a road closure up ahead, it can tell you.

To sign up, residents can go to the Town of New Milford home page at www.newmilford.org and scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click the Notify New Milford icon.

Benefits to an emergency alert system like this are obvious. Routing people away from serious weather events like tornadoes or unexpected road closures due to downed trees. But having residents more engaged in town events can be a huge plus that cannot be downplayed.

More and more towns are adopting measures to ensure that their residents stay connected, and we’ve written about this topic before. Some towns are experimenting with apps like this, while others are using social media to stay connected. What stands out is that the times have changed and we no longer know where people are. Reaching them at their location of choosing is the next step in keeping Connecticut residents connected and informed.

A New Community Policing

Willimantic PD teams up with ECSU Students for one of a kind internship

One of the biggest questions that arose in 2020 was: Just what should policing look like in the future? And it turns out that many people had a lot of thoughts about bringing those new ideas into departments around the country. In Willimantic, a new pilot program is pairing students from Eastern Connecticut State University with the local Police Department.

Cited as a direct response to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the Police Accountability bill that was signed into law last year, departments were asked to look into using social workers in response to some calls, particularly non-violent ones.

Students from the ECSU Social Work Program followed police over 400 hours “in an on-ground internship that engaged them with the community on nonviolent police calls and follow-ups pertaining to mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, and other social issues.”

Social workers, or students on the path to receiving their degrees, are trained in the kind of issues that police officers might face but are not adept at handling. In the same way that an EMT can provide life-saving medical attention on the way to the hospital, they probably aren’t equipped to perform a heart transplant – police cannot be experts in all facets that people call them for.

Willimantic Police Chief Paul Hussey told ECSU that “Many of the department’s calls are by ‘gravely disabled’ individuals – a classification for people who are presently unable to provide for their basic needs due to mental health or substance abuse.”

Students in the pilot program spoke of situations where in a traditional case they would not have been “needed,” but their presence clearly helped. “[Emily] Constantino recalls responding with an office to a report of a drug overdose: ‘Upon arriving, I met a woman who had just witnessed her close friend overdose in her apartment. This woman was clearly traumatized and was incredibly emotional while watching EMTs try to save her friend’s life.

“During this situation, I was able to speak with this woman and calm her down while the police officers and EMTs helped her friend. I feel grateful that I was there to provide support for this woman during this call; I can only imagine how terrifying it is to witness something like that.”

The first year was a success for both school and police, and the Willimantic Police Department said they’d like to hire full-time social workers in the future. It would mean, not an end to cops, but a reframing of what situation requires which response, leading perhaps to a safer tomorrow.

The Public Safety section of CT&C is sponsored by Emergency Resource Management. Learn more at: http://ermanagement.com