Better crime analysis is boosting Bridgeport police efforts

Written by Brad Durrell,
The Bridgeport News
Thursday, December 11, 2008

Bridgeport residents learned how the police are using crime statistics and computer software to better respond to problems in Bridgeport’s neighborhoods during a recent community forum.

Bridgeport police officer Frank J. Jacobellis, one of the department’s crime analysts, said daily incident reports are prepared for commanders to help them with deployment issues and crime-fighting approaches.

“We track the trends and how things are changing, so the police can change how they handle these things,” said Jacobellis, noting major crime has declined substantially in recent years in Bridgeport.

Jacobellis, who works with fellow officer and crime analyst Grisselle Gomez, said a growing problem is homes in foreclosure that are vacant, which people enter to steal scrap metal. “We need the public’s help because no one is living there,” he said.

Gomez said crime generally increases during the holidays and in the summer.

Criminals know the hours when police officers work, Jacobellis said, and often commit crimes during shift breaks and when inclement weather such as heavy snow can hinder police response time.

“Criminals are like cockroaches,” he said. “They are always waiting for opportunities, moving around.”

The department should get new software soon to help break down crime by more specific categories and to even predict where future crimes will take place. Also, neighborhood crime statistics may be regularly made available to the public by putting the information on a Web site.

The police’s Community Services Division hosted Saturday’s Bridgeport Community Safety Forum at the City Hall Annex. About 40 people attended, including some Housatonic Community College criminal justice students.

The five-hour session included presentations on crime analysis, other police measures and public safety tips, and a panel discussion with Mayor Bill Finch and Acting Police Chief Joseph Gaudett. A federal grant paid for the forum.

Elizabeth Ratliff, a Hollow resident, said she found the forum helpful.

“You learn things you didn’t know when you come to things like this,” said Ratliff, who has been involved in community organizing in Bridgeport.

South End resident Jim O’Leary said it was good to see the police being so pro-active. “The public also has a role to play in making the community safe, and it’s good to know the police will be there to help us,” O’Leary said.

Community outreach mission

Police Lt. David Daniels III described the Community Services Division, which he heads, as the department’s “touchy-feely unit” that focuses on public outreach. Unit members often walk door-to-door in neighborhoods to talk with people about their public safety concerns.

The division includes programs that assist crime victims, advise the public on prevention techniques, and teach children to avoid drugs and gangs. School resource officers who work at most of the city’s middle and high schools are part of the unit.

During the holiday season, unit members help to collect and distribute food and gifts for needy families. The unit also sponsors a summer basketball camp for youth.

Daniels emphasized that the police department, which he said is understaffed by close to 100 officers, needs the community’s help to effectively combat crime.

“We do the best we can with the resources we have,” he said. “We can’t do everything.”

The crime prevention unit helps organize neighborhood block watch patrols, sponsors a senior volunteer crime patrol group, and offers free home security surveys.

Officer Nick Ortiz discussed steps people could take to avoid becoming victims of house burglaries, street robberies, car thefts and car-jackings.

Ortiz advised people to always be aware of their surroundings and to act with confidence to avoid being targeted as easy prey. “You have to think like this all the time,” he said.

Angela DeLeon, a crime prevention specialist with People’s United Bank, told attendees not to resist a perpetrator during a street robbery. “If someone says ‘Give me your purse,’ throw it toward them and run away,” DeLeon said. “Nothing is worth your life.”

Questions on gangs

Audience questions focused on problems with gangs, downtown safety and what to do about car break-ins at a South End condominium complex.

Daniels said gangs were a bigger problems in Bridgeport in the late 1980s, and aren’t as bad here as in many larger U.S. cities. “In Los Angeles, it’s entrenched in the culture,” with multiple generations belonging to the same gangs, he said.

Gang activity could be minimized by having more city-sponsored youth programs and getting more responsible adults to work with young people, he said. “Kids are so bad because they don’t have people like you talking to them,” Daniels said.

Officers said downtown is one of the safest sections of the city, due to special patrols and all the pedestrian activity.

As for car break-ins and stolen cars, residents were advised not to leave valuables in vehicles, to install car alarms and use steering wheel lock devices. “If you put obstacles in their way, they don’t want to deal with that,” Ortiz said.

Officers said people often leave global positioning satellite (GPS) devices, laptop computers and other electronic items visible inside their vehicles, especially near schools and hospitals.