Darien police received 345 calls from burglar alarms in town, but not one of them appears to have been from a burglar.
That was one of the statistics included in the Darien Police Department’s quarterly report for April through June, as delivered by Police Chief Duane Lovello for Tuesday’s Darien government department heads meeting.
Selectmen hold the meeting with all town department heads so that they know what’s going on in other departments in town, and so the selectmen can better keep tabs on what the departments are doing.
Here’s the text and illustrations from the Police Department report:
Darien Police Department Quarterly Report
Chief Duane J. Lovello 7/1/2015 2nd Quarter 2015
Introduction
On June 16, 2015, Probationary Officer Amanda Hinkley graduated from the 348th Basic Training Session of the Connecticut POSTC Police Academy and returned to Darien the next day to start her ten week field training with a certified Field Training Officer (FTO). Probationary Officer Leslie Silva is now approximately half way through her POSTC training as a member of Training Session 349. Probationary Officer Silva is on track to complete her POSTC training in mid-September.
The department remained down one patrol officer position during the 2nd quarter and has continued efforts to recruit currently certified Connecticut police officers, identifying one potential candidate. The department has offered a conditional offer of employment to a currently certified officer who should be hired by the department early in the third quarter. This officer will not need additional academy training and will be placed in an accelerated field training assignment with veteran members of our patrol division as he learns the town and department procedures.
Jodi LoDolce was hired in October of 2014 as the Town’s first civilian telecommunicator. We are again awaiting the announcement for the eight week Connecticut State Police Telecommunicator training that was scheduled to commence last year but has now been delayed several times due to circumstances beyond our control. Dispatcher LoDolce will be attending to attend the next CSP Telecommunicator training class when it goes forward. She continues to work full time in the Darien Communication Center alongside a police officer.
The department has received additional upgrades to the Field Based Reporting (FBR) system from our vendor, Tritech. The software continues to have some functionality issues which we are working through. Much of the crime and incident data that is required to be collected through this system is driven by state and federal data collection requirements that are much more stringent and detailed than in the past.
The major upgrade to the Town’s radio systems for all Emergency Services continues to work very well and significantly addressed previous gaps in radio coverage and operability, especially in the northwest area of town along the Hoyt Street corridor.
Community Outreach and Education
The annual Cops and Kids Adventures program, a program that now has a four-year proven track record of success in forging lasting relationships with our town’s youth population, concluded with a family event at the Depot that was well attended by recent and former “graduates” of the program.
A team of Darien police officers participated in “The Y Games,” a series of physical fitness events, held at the Darien YMCA. Congratulations to this team, placing fourth out of eleven teams participating.
Officers also participated in the annual Special Olympics Torch Run as it proceeded the length of the Boston Post Road through Darien.
The Darien Police Department and Darien Chamber of Commerce teamed up to create an early warning alert system for retail merchants. The new “Business Alert System” (B.A.S.) is designed to facilitate rapid and efficient communications from the police department to retail merchants in the event that criminal activity may be taking place.
Department Activity & Initiatives
Calls for Service
A call for service generally refers to any assignment requiring action by the police to resolve, correct or assist. A call for service can be initiated by the public or a police officer on patrol. Each “Call for Service” is assigned an Incident Number and logged into the Computer Aided Dispatch, or “CAD.”
Darien Police Department graph
Notable criminal activity occurring in the 2nd quarter included:
- On June 4, 2015, at approximately 1:00 AM, Officer John Murphy observed four suspicious males to the rear of the Darien Land Rover dealership. During subsequent investigation the males were found to be in possession of keys to three new Land Rovers that were parked in the lot. The suspects had started cutting the fence with tools located in their vehicle. The four suspects, who were from Philadelphia, PA., were arrested and charged with criminal attempt to Larceny 1st.
- In mid-June, patrol officers stopped and detained a suspect who fit the description of a subject who was responsible for a substantial shoplifting theft from CVS earlier in the month. The suspect was identified at which time it was determined he was also wanted by two other police departments on warrants and was responsible for similar shoplifting larcenies in a number of neighboring jurisdictions. A warrant for the Darien larceny has been submitted to the court.
- In late June, three suspects from the Hartford and Springfield, Mass. area were identified as being responsible for two night time car burglaries that occurred on June 19, 2015. Warrants are being prepared for the suspects for the car burglaries, theft of credit cards and their subsequent use at a Target store in Plainfield, Conn.
- Three motor vehicles were stolen during the overnight hours from local residences during the month of June. A suspect was arrested by Norwalk P.D. and the Darien Detective Division is actively investigating the suspect’s involvement in the two other thefts.
State of Connecticut Reportable Incidents
Connecticut participates in the FBI Uniform Crime Report Program/NIBRS which gathers offense data for violent and property crimes. Offenses that make up the Crime Index are Part I crimes – violent crimes of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault; property crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
From the Darien Police Department second Quarterly report for 2015
Starting Jan. 1, 2015, the State of CT Department of Transportation required a new format for reporting all motor vehicle crashes throughout the state. The format, MMUCC (Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria), serves as a national standard for collecting and reporting highway safety crash data. The Guideline is designed to generate the information necessary to improve highway safety within each state and across the nation.
Darien Police Department; excerpt from the 2nd quarterly report for 2015
Domestic-related incidents and alarm calls for service. Graphic by Darien Police Department
Calls for Service-Medical
The Darien Police Department is designated as “first responders” for all medical calls within the Town of Darien. During the 2nd quarter, the department responded to 272 medical calls for service. This number includes medical calls on I-95 or within the I-95 service areas. Average Response Time (ART) to medically related calls for service was 9.07 minutes during the quarter.
Budget FY 2015-2016
The department is approved FY 15/16 funding for four replacement marked patrol vehicles and one unmarked vehicle as well as the replacement of the police patrol boat. The department intends to replace the current Chevrolet Caprice patrol sedans with Ford Utility SUVs.
Bid specifications for the replacement “Marine One” are being drafted for deliver in 2016. This vessel is designed to have an expected twenty year service life. The vessel will have capabilities including side scan radar and other important safety and emergency equipment.
Training:
- All sworn officers received the U.S. Department of Justice Fair and Impartial Policing training conducted in-house by two certified instructors.
- Decision based shooting training, using the PRISM shooting simulator, commenced during the 1st quarter and concluded during the 2nd quarter.Training hours 1st quarter: 1,428.75Training hours 2nd quarter: 1,240.25 TOvertime:
- Overtime hours 1st quarter: 2,387.75*
- Overtime hours 2nd quarter: 2,234.50**
*Hours are reimbursed by grants or private parties: DWI Grant: 22 hours
TOTAL REIMBURSABLE: 22
** Hours are reimbursed by grants or private parties: ICAC: 4 hours
DWI Grant: 39.5 hours
TOTAL REIMBURSABLE: 43.5
Future Quarters
- Contract negotiations between the town and the Darien Police Association are still progressing as of the close of the 2nd quarter.
- “Inform IQ”, a Google-like search engine tying together the department’s Field Based Reporting (FBR) and Records Management System (RMS) software is expected to be on line during the third quarter.
- The Next Generation 911 system was expected to go live sometime in April of 2015. This upgraded emergency system, being implemented statewide, is designed to allow 911 callers to send text messages and images to PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points). Late in the 2nd quarter, the State of CT reported to us that this implementation has been delayed. The projected implementation date for the Town of Darien is now projected to be mid-December of 2015.