Police shifts put more cops on street

12/12/2006

William Kaempffer , Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — The Police Department has disbanded two specialized units, beefed up two others and has redeployed 25 officers to the patrol division in an effort to increase visibility in the neighborhoods. The process, however, has stirred up a hornet’s nest with the police union, which is accusing the city of abandoning good faith and contractual agreements.

The transfer orders came out Friday and the department’s ID-NET unit, which was created with some fanfare earlier this year to attack neighborhood crime, was dissolved. The Street Interdiction Detail, staffed with officers on temporary assignment to the narcotics unit, also was disbanded.

"I think the chief just wants to do something else with the resources. We’re trying to put as many people as we can back in the community without sacrificing investigations," said Assistant Police Chief Herman Badger. "There will be some new walking beats established and (we) hope to improve our visibility in the community."

At the same time, the department increased the size of the remaining narcotics unit to help offset the loss of SID and nearly tripled the size of its three-man gun unit, adding five new officers, as the city struggles to get a handle on gun violence and the flow of illegal weapons to the streets.

For now, plans to create a gun task force with the state police are on hold because of labor issues with the police union, which blasted the city Monday for trying to circumvent its labor contract by bringing in one outside agency and calling it a task force.

Derek Slap, spokesman for Mayor John DeStefano Jr., expressed optimism that any differences could be ironed out.

Since some 50 percent of guns recovered in New Haven come from within Connecticut, this initiative is an opportunity for New Haven police to do meaningful work around the state and choke off illegal guns at the source, he said.

"We think it’s a strategic partnership that will pay off for residents," said Slap. "We think it’s a great opportunity for the police officers and greater opportunity to get guns off the streets."

However, Sgt. Louis G. Cavalier, the union president, said bringing in the state police is offensive after his executive board lobbied for DeStefano during his gubernatorial run because he was pro-labor.

"I don’t think any union ... would agree to have outsiders come in and scab their work," he said.

Police officers also groused at another "Black Friday," where officers received transfer orders on a Friday afternoon effective two or three days later instead of providing notice so officers can make any necessary arrangements for shift changes.

The shifts in personnel, to an extent, represent a shift in strategy inside the department in response in youth violence and to complaints from the community about a lack of police presence and investment in the neighborhoods.

ID-NET, launched this spring, and SID, which was revived in 2000, were high-visibility units designed to take the fight to criminals. Both were staffed with patrol officers, depleting resources in the patrol division and in neighborhoods.

About two-thirds of the officers assigned to those units have been transferred back to patrol and the walking beats that will replace them are part of an effort to reinvigorate community policing and address complaints from residents about a lack of police presence.