The Police Commission

Works Diligently

To the Editor:

The Police Commission has been working diligently on a number of projects in addition to the ongoing work of the commission and its role as the local traffic authority.

Traffic management has been one of the areas I have put the most focus on. The Police Department’s traffic unit is up and running and traffic citations have increased by 25 percent. The speed trailers are out as much as possible and new permanent mounted speed monitors are also in use. The commission has been working together and has made great progress in creating the procedures for how to apply and implement traffic calming solutions. Our next steps will be to update the Legislative Council, hold a public hearing, and finalize the procedures. I’m sure you have all seen the test crosswalk and speed table on Glover Avenue, which will soon be reinstalled along with an additional crosswalk and speed table in front of the middle school on Queen Street. Our job will be to evaluate these tests and determine what types of permanent installations are appropriate. The next hurdle will be to get funding for the prioritized projects and engineering studies required as traffic calming issues are addressed by the Police Commission. Commissioner Budd has been a terrific partner with me on this project and has helped simplify the process and procedures.

Commissioner Giannini and I tackled the next project, which was to develop an exit interview process to make sure we understood why officers left the Newtown police force. We did extensive research and found a suitable process to emulate from the United Kingdom. The entire Police Commission embraced this new approach. This exit interview process will allow us to understand what the Police Department does well and where we need to improve from the point of view of departing officers. We implemented this program two months ago and it will now be part of our continuous improvement process.

The third project we initiated, which I also worked on with Commissioner Giannini, was a completely revised process to review the chief during the annual performance review. The new process encompasses yearly goals and metrics. It allows each commissioner to participate in the evaluation of the chief and the job he has done leading the Police Department and it then looks forward by setting goals collaboratively for the next year.

Going forward the Police Commission’s next project will be digesting the space needs study, which is almost complete, for the department going out to 2020 and beyond. Newtown is anticipated to have strong population growth which will require expanded capabilities. These types of planning activities allow the Police Commission to address problems before they become a crisis.

I’ve enjoyed working with the other commissioners and appreciate that we have all supported each other in accomplishing these goals.

Bruce Walczak

Police Commissioner

12 Glover Avenue, Newtown                                           April 14, 2009