Aliyya Swaby Photo
The kids at the Waverly Townhouses have come to know Officer Jason Santiago — not because he patrols there, but because he lives there.
Santiago (pictured) is one of six “officers in residence” who have moved into public-housing developments this summer rent-free in exchange for being a stabilizing presence.
Started by the Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH), the program is intended to change communities’ negative assumptions about police presence and build relationships between individual officers and neighbors.
Now Santiago and his five fellow cops living in public-housing are preparing to take the next step in building bridges to young people in public housing — by not just living among them, but organizing monthly special events with them.
“We have them there to get rid of the stigma of police officers only being there when something’s wrong,” said Sgt. Peter McKoy (pictured), who helps coordinate the program. Nine officers in total have been placed in nine different low-income units across New Haven — six started this summer, and three began a year ago or more.
Santiago, who grew up in low-income housing in Middletown, until his mid-teens, said he understands first-hand the panic and distrust a cop car can elicit, especially for young people. Often, neighborhood teens feared police would be “taking away someone that you love,” he said.
When he first moved into his home in the Dwight neighborhood complex four months ago, he was on the other end of those assumptions. He had to pull aside groups of teens and firmly explain his expectations and mission in the neighborhood.
“I let them know I’m not here to flex my chest, but I do have a job to do,” he said. He has had to remind them a few times, but hostile glares have stopped. Santiago said he has found a good balance between walking around in uniform and hanging out in his normal clothing. “I shift between uniform and no uniform because it reminds people, ‘Oh, he’s mad cool — but he’s also a cop,’” Santiago said.
People who were “grilling” him four months ago are now “hugging” him, he said.
Waverly Tenant Resident Council President Marie Heggie said that young people went from avoiding Santiago to staying to talk with him when they see him coming. Heggie has an 11-year-old son, who sometimes plays outside with Santiago and other kids on the basketball courts or the playground.
“In the past, they have had some bad experiences” with cops, she said, of the neighborhood teens. “They’re learning to trust police officers.”
Starting this year, officers in family units are required to plan activities for their community’s young people each month, in addition to the regular monthly check-ins and continual surveillance. The scope of the activities is small due to budgetary limits, but the goal is to get the kids in one place doing something fun, McKoy said.
Santiago said he hopes to organize a salsa dance “social” for next week or the week after. He also wants to arrange a career night every other month, bringing in professionals to show young people the variety of jobs out there.
He said he plans to get involved with teachers and parents of Waverly students, especially those who are having problems in school.
Between 11:30 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. each night, Santiago does a quick patrol of the Waverly Townhouses before heading off to his regular night shift in Fair Haven. He steps out of his own two-bedroom townhouse at 41 Waverly St. and checks for any activity. The grounds are quiet at nights, sometimes solely populated by people playing cards on a porch.
By the time Santiago comes back home at 8 a.m., his neighbors are sending their children off to school.
“Everyone knows my red car,” he said, “and they’re waving at me.”
While walking through Waverly on Thursday morning after his night shift, Santiago saw a man in a car parked outside of a legitimate parking space. He stopped and leaned down to the car window, asking the man to find a better spot to stall. The man seemed exasperated but pulled out of the lot.
Later, Santiago said the man did not belong to Waverly. One concern that came up at a monthly check-in was that non-residents would use the lot whenever they wanted. He keeps an eye out for those trespassers when he patrols.
So far, no large security issues have come up during his patrols. Sometimes, he has to warn people to lower the volume of their music, “typical neighborhood issues.”
“Waverly is tight-knit and they handle issues themselves,” Santiago said. Part of the process of gaining trust is to reassure people he doesn’t want to impose on their turf. He wants to be part of the community, he said, working to make people’s lives easier.
Sounds like a great program!
Officers Santiago and Criscuolo are well known figures in Fair Haven. They have walked the beat in the neighborhood and have my respect. Their professionalism and enthusiasm for community policing is evident. (Recently, Officer Criscuolo handled a situation with fairness but with a clear message to the those who were misbehaving and intimidating their neighbors.)
I am sure Officer Santiago will continue to have a very positive influence in his own neighborhood on Waverly St. Hopefully he will inspire some of young people to consider a career in public safety.
When a young person expresses an interest in becoming a police officer, I suggest they should reach out to Officers Santiago, Criscuolo, and Lt. Johnson, our district manager in Fair Haven.