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by Thomas MacMillan | Jun 4, 2010 5:17 pm

(14) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Legal Writes

Thomas MacMillan Photo Police Chief Frank Limon said he hopes to use new technology to predict crime the way meteorologists predict the weather. To that end, he hired three new assistant chiefs Friday, including a new data guru with multiple degrees and a book on information management.

That tech specialist, Tobin Hensgen (at left in photo), was sworn in as an assistant chief on Friday afternoon at New Haven police headquarters on Union Avenue. Joining him as new assistant chiefs were Thomas Wheeler (right) and Ariel Melendez (center).

Wheeler and Hensgen were recruited from Chicago, where they were colleagues of Chief Limon in the Chicago police department. Melendez has been a New Haven cop since 1979. He is being promoted from the rank of lieutenant.

With the new top cops joining Assistant Chief Stephanie Redding, the department is now fully staffed with four assistant chiefs. They will each earn salaries of $100,350.

Hensgen is in charge of internal affairs, training and education. Wheeler is in charge of detectives, Melendez directs patrol, and Redding covers administration.

Limon said the department needs to make better use of technology, in order to do more with less in difficult financial times. That includes using “predictive analytic models” to gather data and determine where crime is likely to happen, he said. People see this kind of prediction every day when they turn on the TV to watch the weather forecast, Limon said. Data collection is widespread also; for instance, Amazon.com collects information about purchases to sell more products, he said.

“So predictive analytics is a part of a business model we’re going to adapt,” Limon said.

After the ceremony, Limon (center in photo) elaborated on the model. It takes crime analysis a step further, to move from where and when a crime occurred to why it may have happened and who could have done it, he said. That information can be used to find trends and patterns of criminal behavior, to prevent retaliatory shootings, for example. Such a system could also be used to analyze work performance and allocate overtime, Limon said.

Predictive analytics requires data collection and tracking, and a smart use of technology. Hensgen, who Limon said has “a great background in technology,” will be spearheading tech and data efforts in the department.

Hensgen, a recent retiree from the Chicago police department, holds an MBA and a Masters of Public Administration from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He’s working on a PhD from Loyola University, where his dissertation topic “involves the development of policing strategies based on the model of Intelligence-led Policing,” according to the program from the promotions ceremony. He’s the co-author of “Managing Information in Complex Organizations: Semiotics and Signals, Complexity and Chaos.”

Hensgen said his first priority in improving the departments technology is finding out what is currently being used.

“What are the MDTs [Mobile Data Terminals in cruisers] like?” he asked Melendez before the ceremony started. Hensgen wanted to know what type of modems and displays were in use, Melendez said.

Hensgen said he’d like to increase communications bandwidth, to allow the quick transmission of photos between officers. “All these things cost money,” he said. He said he’ll be looking into federal grants to pay for new technology.

Hensgen said he has personal experience with predictive analytics. “I know it works.” He said he used the technique to track “gypsies” who were involved in crime in Chicago. “They use certain cars,” he said, in certain areas and “prey on certain individuals.”

Hensgen said he also used predictive analytics to crack down on a burglary spree in Chicago. He overlaid a map of burglaries with information about the housing of released drug offenders and was able to zero in on where the burglars were likely living. He planted police on the house, who then watched a man come out, walk across the street, kick in a door and come out with a TV. Police made two arrests and burglaries dropped 80 percent, Hensgen said.

Limon is the second consecutive police chief to be hired from outside the department and bring assistant chiefs with him. Chief James Lewis, Limon’s predecessor, brought in two former colleagues when he was hired in 2008.

Asked after the meeting if bringing in leadership from the outside gets in the way of developing new chiefs, Limon said he will be working on preparing police within the ranks to step up to higher leadership positions. Limon said he needed to bring in outside leadership because the department is lacking a lot of technology and he needed someone to work on that.

The department has a lot of “great talent,” and when his contract ends in three years, he’d like to have police trained and ready to move up the ranks, Limon said.

Comments

posted by: Why not hire from within? on June 4, 2010 6:05pm

Why did we hire from outside rather than promote from within. 1 New Haven cop promoted and 2 hired from Chicago??? Sounds like Chief Limon is just taking care of old friends on New Haven’s Dime!!!

Why can’t these new Chiefs ( Lewis & Limon ) hire from within.

posted by: Ex-NHPD on June 4, 2010 7:16pm

Deja Vu all over again. New Haven, after an exhaustive (time and $) search, hires an out-of-towner to run the NHPD. He then brings in his Pals to come pad their resumes by getting their Chief experience. Unfortunately, during Jimmy Lewis’s short, cut-and-run term, he and the Mayor showed all the qualified Upper Level Supervisors that their input was not needed; they all bailed. This left a rather unimpressive pool of candidates inside the NHPD. Melendez certainly is not the worst candidate of the bunch, but was there anyone truly deserving? Probably not.

The qualifications have always been for A.C. to have at least a Bachelor’s Degree AND 5 years as a Supervisor of Supervisors. Melendez= 0 of 2, Hensgen= 1 of 2, Wheeler= 1 of 2.

If Hensgen is going to be A.C. of Internal Affairs, Academy and I.T., when will he have time to do all three, when it sounds like he is focusing on I.T.? Since he has NEVER BEEN A SUPERVISOR, why is he now an A.C.? He certainly appears to have the I.T. credentials; why not hire him as a consultant to the NHPD and have an experienced Supervisor become A.C. to handle the I.A. Division? (Remember the PERF Report? The last A.C. who had that gig did nothing there too.)

If Wheeler and Hensgen are going to be Assistant Chiefs, they have to be sworn Police Officers. The city Press Release stated Wheeler retired from Chicago P.D. in 2006. (The Chicago P.D. Supervisors Newsletter said he retired in 2005.) The release said Hensgen is retired also; how long ago is recently? POST (The State Agency that Accredits Police Officers) would not accept their credentials if they have been retired for that amount of time. Thus, I would expect that both Windy City A.C.‘s would have to go through the entire Academy to become Ct Certified Police Officers. That takes 6 months of 40 hours a week. It’ll be pretty hard to get the NHPD to the I.T. level they want to be at while Hensgen is going to the Academy and finishing his Doctorate. Also, Hensgen is the A.C. overseeing the Academy!

The West Coast experiment was short lived; they all bolted when their guy (Lewis) did. With the amount of time Limon has spent away from the NHPD in his brief tenure, you have to expect he will not complete the full 4 years. Then, you can expect the Windy City Crew to follow him away. What does the city do then? Another outside carpetbagger? Where is the stability/consistency for the Department?

Finally, I am sure these are all fine men coming from Chicago P.D. But, the Chicago P.D. sure has a sordid history when it comes to ethics, effective policing, and community confidence.

posted by: citysavior on June 4, 2010 7:58pm

GREAT CHOICE IN CHIEF MELENDEZ.City kid makes it to assistant chief. The answer to your question why not hire from within is that often times out of state chiefs are more comfortable bringing someone to watch their back. Wheeler seems to have enough experience but hengsen has no police supervisory experience. He has lots of education and seems to be a computer whiz kid but why bring him in to supervise. Why not hire him as the director of police technology? it beats having to explain to the rank and file that a non supervisor is making a call on their judgment in the field when he never supervised in the field. just because you worked IA does not mean you can run it.

posted by: Anon on June 4, 2010 10:01pm

Congrats Melendez.. its about time. It does not take a person with a B.A. to be a Chief or Assistant Chief (i think his military background should speak for its self and police service). Its been a long time coming and I hope you shape up some of the patrol supervisors and square away the patrol officers who dress like slobs.
Its good to see outsiders coming in because there is only a handful in the N.H.P.D. qualified to be A.C. who didn’t rise through the ranks by lawsuits or being in a certain group. In five years the Pastore hire-es (now supervisors) will be gone and the qualified supervisors and officers will rise through the ranks and lead the department to better times.
This is needed until the bad seeds are gone. Good News!!!

posted by: R on June 4, 2010 11:04pm

Let’s give them a chance. Maybe hiring has to happen from “outside,” and the city of Chicago seems like a good place to draw experienced people from. I see this new approach as a no-brainer and good for the city. It’s the 21st century - let’s use this technology to make this city safer.

posted by: beefair on June 4, 2010 11:15pm

I’m wondering will the predictive analytics suggest to NHPD that rehiring ... Brandy is a horrible move? How effective is it in predicting criminal behavior among the ranks? Everytime you turn around recently there is another NHPD officer charged with criminal behavior.I agree with ex NHPD, Chicago is home to officers investigated for their regular use of electric shocks to force prisoners to plead guilty to crimes they did not commit.What a great department to recruit from. Kudos to the mayor for yet another wonderful search!! How can anyone expect residents to have any kind of respect for law enforcement? Also, why does the city (minus taxpayers’ input)continue to bring in outsiders to police the community when there are capable officers who live within the city and more deserving of the opportunity. Why bother to have NHPD officers to apply for the Asst chief positions when obviously the chief knew when he came here who he planned to hire for the job.

posted by: Oh boy on June 5, 2010 7:28am

Wheeler retired in 2006. He owned a McDonald’s for the last 4 years. So I guess the NHPD can get fries with the Shake-up…

posted by: kamb on June 5, 2010 8:54am

One guy worked at McDonalds. Google it, its true!

posted by: Fair Haven on June 6, 2010 1:38am

Beefair….please..your rhetoric is tiresome. First, the Officer’s name is Bandy. Although I agree that he has no right to uphold the law, I am curious as to why you would not mention Morrison’s name and circumstances. Here is an African-American officer who was hired inspite of a previous arrest for Domestic violence just to appease the likes of you so that the officers in NH “look” like it’s residents. (Insulting if you ask me as a female of color. I much more appreciate EARNING things on merit) yet you fail to be indignant at the fact that he ran over a 14 y.o. black female, rode away and then had the audacity to go out on injury the next day. ... As for the new Chiefs..a travesty. None of them have the REQUIRED experience to have earned the position.

posted by: MM on June 6, 2010 3:07am

A warm welcome to you new guys from the Land of Blagojevich. Assistant Chief Wheeler will show you how its done here in the Land of DeStefano. First you get in your overtime so you can afford a McDonalds franchise. They only cost about $500,000. Then you retire and collect a pension and come back to work. Its called double dipping here in New Haven.

posted by: beefair on June 6, 2010 3:31pm

Fairhaven, I am puzzled by your “tiresome” complaint of my post since you didn’t seem to be in disagreement with anything I said. To say that hiring an African American to “appease the likes of me” is insulting and downright erroneous because if you paid any attention to my “rhetoric” you would know that I have never promoted hiring anyone into any position based solely on he/she being African American and have actually stated many times that they are no better and many times even worse than the “usual suspects”. No,I didn’t specifically name Morrison (as well as countless others when I spoke to “everytime I turn around there is another NHPD officer involved in criminal activity” but he was certainly included. What he did was reprehensible and I expect him to pay dearly for his indifference to another life.It’s becoming a cultural phenomenon of NHPD to commit crime,apply for disability and collect a hefty pension. BTW, I doubt he will be returning to NHPD. I wish I could say the same for Bandy. (Sorry about the misspelling as long as you got the point).

posted by: kamb on June 6, 2010 6:15pm

Bravo to Fair Haven, and Booh Boooh Booh to BFair, as usual.

I’m very disappointed with DDe-Stefanoand Chief Limon. You mean to tell me the only two Asst. CChe-ifsgood eoughtfor the job are from out of town and from Chicago?! This is just another Chief taking care of his boys.

Why do we let an outsider tell us who would be a good Asst. Chief? Limon is a joke. . . . and we all know DStafaniis a joke.

Let me guess, when Limon leaves we might hire a Chief from….say Ohio. Then we’ll spend $100,000.00 tax payers dollars on hiring two more Asst. Cheifs from . . . .uhhh Ohio.

NH is a joke.

posted by: beefair on June 7, 2010 8:47am

Ah gee Kamb,Being acknowledged makes me feel so important!!!!Again ,another one who agrees with my post yet had the need to show some luv. Thanks a bunch.

posted by: Janis on June 8, 2010 11:52am

Why do we need the expense of 3 assistant chiefs? I thought the city was trying to SAVE money. I guess that only applies when they’re trying to 125 custodians out of a job. What a joke!

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