New Haven Independent

Officials Tuesday night returned to face the demands of the the Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hills (WEB) Management Team, which in recent weeks has put the heat on the police department over increased crime and a perceived decline in community policing.

Bike officers are currently being trained and “park and walk” patrols will soon be more prevalent, police brass announced at the meeting. Overtime officers will fill in slots when regular beat officers are off. But no additional police will be assigned to the neighborhood.

Though not as well attended by community members and certainly less fevered than some recent meetings, Tuesday’s gathering saw Chief of Police Cisco Ortiz, Assistant Chief Herman Badger, pictured with Eliezer Greer and District Manager Sgt. Steve Shea, and Mayor John DeStefano, pictured below, all crowd inside the Whalley Avenue substation.

DeStefano came to the meeting to discuss public safety in the city. He said the “PERF” report would be issued by the end of the month. His talking points focused on youth violence, the need of a statewide prison re-entry program, city goals for police recruitment and the lack of mid-level management within the police department.

The month of June was rough in the WEB district. WEB treasurer Peaches Quinn gave some background at the start of the meeting. She said in June there were eight shootings in the district. As a result of this, as well as other safety and security issues, the WEB came together and crafted a message which they delivered to the police. It largely called for a return to community policing.

Eliezer Greer, heading up the Edgewood Park Defense Patrol, announced a press conference Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. outside the substation on Whalley and Norton Avenues to respond to the police announcement.

Quinn said the WEB “mantra” “demands tht the city of New Haven assign adequate police to the district to allay fear and restore community-based policing, visible in foot or bicycle patrols.”

Bike patrol officers Ron Ferrante and Gary Hammill should be ready to cycle by the beginning of August, said Badger.

One request called for an additional 10 officers assigned to the district. That’s not happening at this point.

Mayor DeStefano said the number of police officers has dropped in the city due to both recruiting and funding problems. He said the city used to get $4 million dollars a year from the federal government and now receives only $400,000. In 2000 there were 447 officers; now there are 424. Of that number, 31 are in the Academy.

“The Board of Alderman approved an increase in the size of the department,” he said, adding that it’s hard to recruit cops.

He also mentioned that the new street outreach workers program, which kicked off on Monday, should help with the violence.

Quinn, pictured, asked how the foot patrols would work.

“It’s hard for us to understand the impact of what you’re describing,” she said.

Badger said that if officers were not responding to a call or actively investigating another matter, they would be told to park and walk a small area in the district.

Chief Ortiz, pictured, said that the new patrols would need to be tested out for a couple weeks before the performance could be gauged.

“You need to know when they’re out there and then you’ll know if you want to change it,” he said about the foot patrols.

DeStefano also addressed the lack of mid-level management within the police department. He said that six out of eight captain positions as well as lieutenants are “missing.”

“Most of the money is in the budget,” said DeStefano. “But it’s going to take a couple years.”

“I don’t want to be like George Bush,: ‘Baghdad? No problem,’” he said.

Ortiz said the department is working hard to address many different problems.Francine Caplan brought up a reference in a recent Independenet story to a creative policing practice in High Point, N.C. (Scroll halfway through the story to find it.) Ortiz said he is taking a trip to High Point on Aug. 24.