Top Cop’s Views Evolved On Drugs, Fences

A fence kept Hamden safe from New Haven. Then it didn’t.

That’s one way that perceptions of public safety changed along the Hamden-New Haven border.

The perceptions of Hamden’s police chief, Thomas Wydra, for instance, changed when New Haven removed a fence last year that for a half-century had blocked access to his town from the public-housing developments in New Haven’s West Rock neighborhood.

Hamden neighbors fought the removal of that fence. They predicted crime and traffic problems would ensue if the fence came down.

Those problems never materialized, according to Wydra. A few weeks ago a new road opened connecting New Haven and Hamden, and this time no one made any fuss.

Wydra’s cops and their New Haven counterparts worked together to ensure a smooth transition when the fence came down. They increased bike patrols, for instance, and stayed in touch about traffic concerns.

But, Wydra said on an interview on WNHH radio’s ​“Dateline New Haven” program, he also came to see the fence — and fences in general — in a new light.

“The fence outlived its usefulness in my opinion a long time time ago,” he said. The ​“absolutely beautiful” rebuilding of the public-housing developments certainly helped.

In a way, having the fence removed may in itself end up preventing crime, he added.

“The fact is that we’re better when we have connectivity in terms of neighborhoods. There’s much more openness in that neighborhood. People over time will realize that is beneficial,” he predicted.

“That fence actually at times was a benefit to criminal activity. Because if you knew the area and knew where the fence could be penetrated” — through holes and cut-outs — ​“it made for a perfect escape route if you were engaged in criminal activity.”

Visibility brings with it the possibility for witnesses to crime. That’s a deterrent to crime. So are people out and about in a neighborhood. The neighborhood over time will benefit from the new connection.

Down With Gloucester

Wydra also spoke of how his views on drugs have evolved since he joined the force in 1993.

He worked narcotics for a while as he rose through the ranks. He became chief in July 2006.

Since that time he has come to see drug abuse as more of a health problem than a criminal justice problem. Many police chiefs — and activists and elected officials of all political persuasions — have reached similar conclusions in recent years.

The heroin epidemic drove the point home for Wydra, he said. In Connecticut, the number of annual reported fatal heroin, morphine or codeine overdoses has risen from 195 in 2012 to 415 in 2015.

“I do have different feelings than I used to have in terms of addiction. Criminalizing it is not the right approach,” Wydra said. ​“We’re dealing with overdoses, fatal overdoses. Last few months had one. We’ve had several over the last few years….

“The war we’re fighting right now across this country, it’s life and death, particularly when it comes to heroin and pain medication.”

In practice, Wydra advocates decriminalization, not legalization, of drugs.

He applauded Gloucester, Mass. Police Chief Leonard Campanello, who has gone on a campaign of sending drug arrestees to treatment, not jail.

In Hamden, Wydra explored with other officials the idea of equipping all his officers with Narcan to save the lives of people they meet on calls who are overdosing. Ultimately, they decided not to do that because Hamden’s fire department, which also attends those calls, already equips its firefighters with Narcan.

Wydra said he tells his officers that when they respond to overdose calls, they kep in mind ​“that our first priority is life, and not a drug investigation. That is secondary. That is somewhat of a shift when it comes to police officers.”

Then, when they do proceed with a drug investigation, Wydra said, the focus needs to be on the top of the supply chain, not the user. Often that can mean offering users immunity in return for information on dealers.

Click on or download the above sound file to hear the full ​“Dateline New Haven” interview with Chief Wydra, which also covered his career on the force and his future plans. Subscribe to WNHH’s new podcast ​“Dateline New Haven,” where episodes of the show will be delivered directly to your phone or smart device. (Click here for details on how to subscribe.)