New Haven Independent

Posted by: Cedar Hill Resident | December 12, 2006 1:54 PM

Chief Francisco Ortiz: First Bravo on the bold moves this week!! We are glad that you and the powers that be are listening. Looks like things are going to get better thank you.

But I have to ask…in referring to the people that answer the phones down there…Who decides if the calls need police response is my question??? Our district manager tells us to call the police when ever we see suspicious activity. And if you live on a street that has drug dealing you get to know what suspicious activity and what warrents a call in.. We do not call in every car or for that fact every criminal activity we see (or we would be calling you all day and night. We just chase the prostitutes and users away ourselves now. In hopes that they stay off our street for awhile but there like stray cats they keep coming back) but we do call in suspicious activity that is recurring!! But what we get on the other end of the phone is a person who starts to grill you like you’re the criminal!! I make at least one call a week to the police dept My weekly call (give or take ) is on the same black SUV and this White Oldsmobile that do business on my street all the time. They sit there for at least an hour making 2 to 3 long transactions. During that hour do you think an officer shows up. NO. At least I will call you back and say don’t bother coming there gone…other wise 5 hours later at 1-2 in the morning I will have an officer knocking on my door saying you called the police??? As I have stated before one time I called and gave the person the plate numbers of these 2 vehicles and at the end asked her to repeat the plate numbers she did not take them down! I hope these people go through some kind of training and retraining if need be.

.I am glad that they are getting more help. And I see all the other changes that are happening. Again thank you we see that you are hearing what we the public have been asking for.

Posted by: TrueBlueCT | December 12, 2006 2:01 PM

Hats off to Al Paolillo for bringing this up. In the post-Wearing era, customer service at the non-emergency 946-6316 has fallen way, way off. The message it sends to New Haven residents is that the NHPD doesn't care to talk to you. (Though I know this is not the truth of the matter.)

Lately it's gotten so bad that I've quit calling in public safety concerns. The only choice you have for semi-urgent requests are to wait on the phone when it rings and rings and rings, or to clog the 9-1-1 hotline. (which I won't do.)

The whole idea of community policing is for ordinary citizens to interact with the police force on a cooperative basis. With no one answering the phone, that goes right out the window.

I look forward to Chief Ortiz and Mayor DeStefano quickly righting the ship on this one. And again, hats off to Alderman Paolillo for having the guts to bring this up publicly.

Posted by: me | December 13, 2006 2:35 AM

To "cedar hill resident":
The last person that deserves a compliment is Chief Ortiz. Again, I will reiterate as I have on other postings, just four years ago New Haven was boasting a crime rate that was the lowest in forty years. Since Ortiz has become chief EVERY aspect of police service has deteriorated and the crime rate has soared along with my taxes. The next time an officer comes to your house ask them (as I have) about morale in the NHPD under Ortiz. Just don't be surprised when they tell you that they hate their job.

Posted by: Cedar Hill Resident | December 13, 2006 1:42 PM

I am most likly one of the biggest and active complainers of the police dept.

I was giving him the bravo because it takes a big man to say something is not working and to change it. The whole ID net thing was a bomb. Each of the bad areas in the city had a meeting with the police dept. in October because they wanted to here what we wanted, what our problems were and what our suggestions were. We complained about the phone people for one thing, the fact that we did not see police presents at all exept for downtown which seems to be where they are on friday and saterday night. The fact that when we called no police would come. We told them we wanted bike cops and community officers that stay in that one area. One that gets to know the people and the area.

We just got a new district manager a year ago for our area who promised all kinds of things and bamm they short staffed him, we know this. How does he face us at our block watch meetings when he has no cops to send us because the other part of his district is even worse than ours. That can not be an easy thing. But.......
I am seeing all the things that we asked for in the meetings starting to come to life. The meetings were just in October and the the changes may take awhile to set up but they are.

Now I am no big Ortiz fan that is for sure. My area was starting to clean up awhile back and god did it go down hill. But we have a few great people in the area and a few active city reps that are helping us.
We do need to remember that the community needs to take part in things to make the city better to. We have the power if we stand up for what is right and what we want. The problem is that people commpline with out being willing to put the time in to change it.