HARTFORD, Conn. — The Hartford Police Department is revamping its efforts to facilitate community policing in the city.
It starts with bringing back walk-beats.
Acting Police Chief Kenny Howell and Mayor Arunan Arulampalam held a press conference on Friday to announce a series of changes to the police department’s practices that they hope will increase visibility, effectiveness and transparency.
At the center of the changes is a renewed focus on community policing, which allocates officers to specific areas of the city so they can become more familiar with residents. Rather than responding after a crime occurs, community policing prioritizes finding solutions to conditions and situations that lead to public safety problems.
“Community policing is not new to Hartford. It’s just this is an enhanced vision that I have for the department,” Howell said.
A major change for the department involves the implementation of walk-beats. Five walk-beat officers will be assigned on a regular basis to cover North Hartford, South Hartford and downtown. Howell said two officers will walk Albany Avenue, two will walk Park Street, and one will walk downtown.
According to Howell, the areas were chosen using crime maps, data and consideration of their locations. Hartford used to have walk-beats, but Howell acknowledged that personnel and staffing issues in the past caused the department to do away with them.
Now, however, the new interim police chief says he is committed to keeping officers on the street.
“I’ve gotten phone calls; just people were ecstatic about this because this is what they want in the community,” Howell said. “Every community meeting I went to, (I was asked), ‘Where’s the walk-beats? I want a relationship with police officers like long ago.’ I support that 110%.”
The officers who are now working the walk-beats were reassigned from other areas of the department. Howell said he will hold them to a high standard and emphasized that they will become known by many in the neighborhoods where they work.
“They will make these contacts, and the test is when I go to these community meetings, do you notice a difference and do you know the name of your beat officer. If they say that they don’t know the names of their beat officers, we have to reassess the situation,” Howell said.
Howell added that he’s already noticed excitement growing among Hartford locals as they see officers out on the beat “walking, talking to residents and building relationships organically.”
The police department also announced on Friday that it will launch 15 new officer patrols in addition to the walk-beats. Police hope that this decreases the response times to 911 calls.
The city is also committed to reviewing police reporting practices and policies. Hartford has asked the law firm of Shipman & Goodwin LLP to “undertake a thorough review of current reporting practices and tools, and to then make recommendations for reforming and improving these policies,” according to a release on Friday from the Mayor’s Office.
During the press conference, Arulampalam said the city wants to strengthen the bonds between the community and police officers and make sure residents “receive the highest quality service with the police department.”
In the release, Arulampalam said Hartford residents deserve a responsive and visible police force that is prepared and ready to meet their needs quickly.
“And our officers need to be supported with clear policies, tools and resources that allow them to do their best work each day. These reforms will help our community feel more connected to their police department and will ensure that department processes and standards are reflective of modern best practices,” Arulampalam said.
Howell reaffirmed the new standard, stating in the release that the collaborative goal is to foster a greater sense of community while making sure residents feel connected to each other and the city. He implied that community policing is here to stay.
“Every employee plays a crucial role in community policing, and the Hartford Police Department reflects our commitment to serve and protect with a deeper connection to our community,” Howell said. “I look forward to continuing these efforts with Mayor Arulampalam in service to Hartford residents.”
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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