The Newtown Police Department has started a new law enforcement program in which police accompany probation officers on visits to residences of people on probation to ensure that they are complying with the terms of their probation, according to Police Chief James Viadero.

While a person is on probation, they are released from detention, provided that they exhibit good behavior under supervision.

Newtown police are working with the Office of Adult Probation in Danbury on the new program, Chief Viadero said.

The first home checks started on February 23, resulting in a narcotics arrest at an Osborne Hill Road residence in Sandy Hook, the chief said. Arrested was Timothy John Willmott, 24, of 56 Osborne Hill Road on charges of possession of a controlled substance (opiate) and use of drug paraphernalia, the chief said.

Willmott was not on probation when the arrest occurred, but was simply present at the residence where police were visiting with a probation officer, the chief said.

After processing, Willmott was released on $5,000 bail for a March 8 appearance in Danbury Superior Court, according to police.

Probation officials and police performed several other home checks in town and all the probationers visited were in compliance with the conditions of their probation, the chief added.

The new program is similar to a program that Chief Viadero started while working as a Bridgeport police officer.

The program has several purposes, the police chief said. It is intended to monitor probationers toward the general goal of public safety and it starts a collaborative working relationship between law enforcement agencies, he said.

Also, it allows police to familiarize themselves with local probationers, and ensures that probationers comply with their conditions of release, he added.

"I believe that the formulation of these partnerships are essential to the [police] department's core mission of providing for public safety for the residents of Newtown," Chief Viadero said.

"As evident, the first outing was successful, particularly in light of law enforcement's effort to intervene in the most recent cycle of the proliferation of opiate-based narcotics," he said. The program will continue, he said.

The police chief also has said he plans to have police accompany parole officers on home visits to parolees' homes. In parole, prisoners are released from custody before the completion of a sentence on the promise of good behavior.