Break-Ins Continue To Plague Fairfield Hills

By Kendra Bobowick

The trouble usually comes overnight.

Vandalism and signs of break-ins on the Fairfield Hills campus come with the territory of a defunct state psychiatric hospital. Maria DeMarco of DeMarco Management, who monthly notifies the Fairfield Hills Authority of activity on the grounds, provoked discussion with her information this week.

Setting aside his stack of reports, member John Reed sat forward. “We have a problem. I have not seen successive dates this close together before. Whatever we’re doing is not working.” Is it the summertime that has brought an increase in incidents? Is it the level of detail in Ms DeMarco notes?

“It sounds like a lot of vandalism and no one is apprehended,” Authority Chairman Robert Geckle said.

Regardless of the explanation, and despite other authority members’ calmer reaction to the reports, Mr Reed quickly met with agreement to his requests.

“It seems to be standard operating procedure to call the police, but I think we need to brainstorm,” he said. With suggestions of his own, he mentioned better lighting, motion detectors, or possibly asking the police to park on site longer.

“That’s a great idea,” Ms DeMarco said, with the understanding that she and others are considering a meeting with Police Chief Michael Kehoe. Mr Geckle had said, “I have no problem with individuals sitting down with the police chief and [Ms DeMarco] and talking about [security].” From Mr Reed’s point of view, the number of incidents is “unacceptable,” he stressed.

Raising several points earlier in the discussion, Mr Reed had noted, “Newtown has to prepare, not just respond…” Thinking ahead to a time when the municipal and education offices will be located at Bridgeport Hall and professional and private businesses will be established on the campus, he speculated that Fairfield Hills (the interior of the currently gated campus) would become a regular part of police patrol responsibilities.

This week Chief Kehoe offered his thoughts. Aware that the current renovations on the former hospital site are bringing it closer to everyday public use, he said, “When and if it becomes a public and open campus, at that point with freer access we can patrol that area.” With the current gates locked in the evening, Chief Kehoe explained that patrols can only reach so far.

Authority member Amy Dent, among others, has noticed a patrol car occasionally parked near a Fairfield Hills entrance gate. “There could be a variety of reasons — observing traffic, taking preventative measures,” Chief Kehoe said. He confirmed that the police will “remain active participants” at Fairfield Hills.

For now, the around-the-clock security contacts police in case of break-ins. Frustrated that “people are often gone” once police arrive, Mr Reed repeated the need to brainstorm. “I’m not comfortable with this,” he said. “We’re waiting for an eventual lawsuit,” he warned. Thinking out loud, he said, “We might need to have [more] people there at night.”