Police may restructure
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| Police Chief John Buturla is planning to reorganize the police department's command structure early next year to improve the department's flexibility and effectiveness. |
| Buturla, who became chief in April, said this week the anticipated retirement of three captains and three detectives in January presents an appropriate opportunity for the reorganization. He said he has been studying the command structure and the department's needs since he took over after former Chief Michael Imbro retired, but he was cautious about making changes too soon. He has not announced any specific changes yet, because he is still engaged in preliminary discussions with the police union and Mayor James Miron about it. Miron confirmed he has discussed changes with Buturla but said nothing specific has been decided. However, Miron added that changing the command structure and increasing the department's efficiency figured in his choice of Buturla as chief. Buturla said the last time the police department was reorganized was in 1975, when the department had 114 officers. Currently, the department is authorized for 111 officers, but it is slightly under strength with 106. The retirements will reduce it to 100. Hiring and training new officers takes time, Buturla said, so improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the department's available resources is all the more important now. One area under consideration is the Detective Bureau's Special Services Division, which handles investigations of narcotics activity and other vices as part of its responsibilities. While Buturla plans to retain detectives in Special Services, he said he is looking at how those officers are assigned to see if he can enhance the Detective Bureau's flexibility. He said he also is reviewing other parts of the department's command structure, but he declined to comment further before talking more with the union and the mayor. Buturla is a former State Police major and liaison to the FBI for counter-terrorism. He was the state's Director of Homeland Security in 2004, and prior to succeeding Imbro he was New Haven's chief administrative officer. His father, Joseph C. Buturla, was a 39-year veteran of the Stratford Police Department, retiring as captain of the Detective Bureau. Buturla's his older brother, Richard Buturla, is the town attorney. |
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