Hartford Police Place New Emphasis on Community Policing

HARTFORD, Connecticut – The Hartford Police Department is increasing its efforts to facilitate community policing in the city.

It starts with the reintroduction of walk beats.

Acting Police Chief Kenny Howell and Mayor Arunan Arulampalam announced a series of changes to police practices at a press conference on Friday that they hope will increase visibility, effectiveness and transparency.

At the heart of the changes is a renewed focus on community policing, which involves sending officers to specific areas of the city so they can become more familiar with residents. Rather than responding only after a crime has occurred, community policing focuses on finding solutions to conditions and situations that create public safety problems.

“Community policing is nothing new in Hartford. I just have an expanded vision for the department,” Howell said.

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A big change for the department is the addition of patrol officers. Five patrol officers will be assigned regularly to cover North Hartford, South Hartford and downtown. Howell said two officers will patrol Albany Avenue, two will patrol Park Street and one will patrol downtown.

Howell said the areas were chosen based on crime maps, data and considering their location. Hartford used to have patrols, but Howell acknowledged that staffing and job issues in the past have led the department to eliminate them.

Now, however, the new interim police chief says he is committed to keeping officers on the streets.

“I’ve been getting calls; people are just excited because they want this in the community,” Howell said. “Every community meeting I’ve gone to, I’ve been asked, ‘Where are the walkbeats? I want a relationship with the police like we used to have.’ I support that 110 percent.”

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The officers now on patrol were transferred from other areas of the department. Howell said he will hold them to high standards and stressed that they will be well known in the neighborhoods where they work.

“They’re going to make those contacts, and the test is when I go to those community meetings, do they notice a difference and do they know the name of their patrol officer. If they say they don’t know the names of their patrol officers, we have to reevaluate the situation,” Howell said.

Howell added that he has already noticed a growing excitement among Hartford residents as they see officers on patrol “walking around, talking to residents and building relationships in a natural way.”

The police also announced on Friday that they would be setting up 15 new patrols in addition to the foot patrols. The police hope that this will shorten response times to emergency calls.

The city has also committed to reviewing police reporting practices and policies. Hartford has asked law firm Shipman & Goodwin LLP to “conduct a thorough review of current reporting practices and tools and then make recommendations to reform and improve those policies,” according to a news release from the mayor’s office on Friday.

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During the press conference, Arulampalam said the city wants to strengthen the bond between the community and police officers and ensure that residents “receive the highest quality services from the police.”

In the press release, Arulampalam said Hartford residents have a right to a responsive and visible police force that is prepared and ready to meet their needs quickly.

“And our officers must be supported with clear policies, tools and resources that enable them to do their best work every day. These reforms will help our community feel more connected to their police department and ensure that department processes and standards reflect modern best practices,” Arulampalam said.

Reinforcing the new standard, Howell said in the press release that the shared goal is to foster a stronger sense of community while ensuring residents feel connected to each other and the city, suggesting that community policing is here to stay.

“Every employee plays a critical role in community policing, and the Hartford Police Department reflects our commitment to serve and protect with a deeper connection to our community,” Howell said. “I look forward to continuing these efforts with Mayor Arulampalam in service to the residents of Hartford.”

Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at [email protected].

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