Police Chief Francisco Ortiz (shown at center) met with some aldermen Thursday evening to talk with some aldermen about a gun buyback program. He ended up responding to widespread complaints about the lack of community policing — highlighted by crumbling substations and one alderwoman’s tale of getting cussed out by a cop.
Ortiz and two police commissioners met with the Aldermanic Black and Hispanic Caucus at the police station to talk out details of a gun buyback program. But, echoing a call that’s been heard across the city, aldermen shifted topics to bemoan the loss of the innovative problem-solving method New Haven pioneered in the ’90s: Community policing.
Black and Hispanic Caucus President Jorge Perez (pictured at right) said the caucus was concerned that “there’ve been some changes in attitude and how we don’t see the same community policing as we did in the past.” Almost all 10 aldermen chimed in in agreement.
Newhallville Alderwoman Alfreda Edwards (pictured above at left) detailed the poor state of her neighborhood substation: “The front door is broke, the floors is black as tar,” and the ceiling had a leak. She saw it as a symbol: “We really need to get community policing back to the community.”
Ortiz hadn’t prepared to address the topic: “If I knew the meeting would have been about this, I would have had the whole command staff here.” But he listened as aldermen listed ways in which they’ve noticed a decline in community policing.
Hill Alderwoman Jackie James said she was standing in the street in her neighborhood one day when a cop came driving the wrong way down a one-way street with no lights on, and yelled, “You fucking bitch, get out of my way!”
“If they treat me like that, I can imagine the way they treat people in my community,” said James.
Ortiz listened patiently and said: “Allow me to apologize, ‘cause no one deserves to be treated that way. Actions like that affect all of us.”
Others were quick to mention dedicated problem-solvers and friendly beat cops in their wards. But they agreed there’s been a general shift in mentality since the 1990s, when block watches and management teams were much more active.
“The mid-‘90s was a time when this community was very connected to the police department,” said Westville Alderman Sergio Rodriguez. “It was a time when people felt much more connected to what was going on.”
Perez looked up at a bulletin board of officers’ names and said, “There’s names in Hill South I didn’t even know were cops!” Perez represents that neighborhood.
James asked where the beat cops were in her neighborhood.
“They’re all in my ward!” responded Hill Alderwoman Andrea Jackson-Brooks, referring to visits made by the police department’s roving crime-busting squad, ID-NET. While ID-NET has been effective in racking up arrests short-term, many see it as a shift away from the kind of community policing that made people feel safe in their neighborhoods.
ID-NET, which started six months ago and was set to sunset after one year, will likely be ended sooner, said Ortiz. With the lowest number of sworn officers in 6 or 7 years, and the department paying $100,000 per month in overtime, “I can’t afford to keep 30 guys out there” on the ID-NET squad.
Ending discussion after two solid hours, Perez recapped the caucus consensus on community policing: “Whatever they tell you, it’s not working the way it was initiated,” he told the chief.
“I think you’re right,” said Ortiz. He pledged to arrange a meeting with “follow up soon so you can see the people that work for you.” He said he was in the process of repairing substations.
“Fundamentally, what they’re saying is that they want to have a better relationship with their neighborhood officers and supervisors, and I understand how important it is to have that direct relationship,” said the chief after the meeting.
“These are people who believe in community policing, believe in the police department, have seen the successes that the police department has had with this community, and they want to return it to a point where they are going to have a real honest, working relationship and they feel that in certain parts of the city that might not exist to the level that they have previously enjoyed.”
In addition to setting up a meeting between police and aldermen, Ortiz said he will meet with his assistant chiefs and district managers: “I’m going to remind them how important it is that we have these relationships. This is do-able.”
As For The Gun Buybacks…
The aldermen and the chief did spend some time on the meeting’s official purpose, the buyback program.
Would such a program be an effective solution to the growing number of shootings and murders involving urban teens? the caucus wanted to know.
The city will launch a $10,000 gun buyback program by the end of the month, said Board of Police Commissioners Chairman Richard Epstein (pictured above at left). Epstein and the commission came up with the idea after Jajuana Cole’s shooting death prompted an urgent call for a solution to teen violence. They raised private funds: No taxpayer dollars will be used.
For a period of two weeks, people will be able to turn in guns, no questions asked, in return for a $100 food voucher. Guns will be accepted at police headquarters.
Ortiz said “we are under no illusion” that a criminal would “change his ways” and give up his or her favorite Glock. But two guidelines for the reward — the gun must work, and it must be a handgun — will make the program more effective, he said. Rifles and inoperable relics will be accepted, but with no reward in return.
Ortiz said he’s already received calls from would-be donors wanting to get guns off their hands, and has received community support. “It looks like it’s something people are encouraging us to do.”
What if the gun had been used in a homicide? he was asked. Ortiz said the PD wouldn’t betray its promise of anonymity. Cops wouldn’t keep track of who turned in the gun. Detectives would just investigate the case as though they had “found the gun in the police lobby, or on the street.”
What other measures is the PD taking to get guns off the streets? Ortiz said police have already recovered 180 guns this year. He praised a new “gun docket” that will speed up court cases of people charged with gun-related offenses. In the future, he’d like to see surveillance cameras put up — in hotspots selected by the community — and more sting operations where undercover officers buy guns from illicit dealers, then send them to jail.
Nice to see the community policing issue addressed so quickly.