Department of Public Safety

At a Glance

ARTHUR L. SPADA, Commissioner

Colonel Timothy F. Barry,

Vincent J. DeRosa,

Deputy Commissioners

Established - 1903

Statutory authority - C.G.S. Section 29-1b

Central office - 1111 Country Club Road,

Middletown, CT 06457-9294

Number of employees - 1,650

Recurring operating expenses - $137.7 million

Organizational structure –

Office of the Commissioner; Division of State Police; Division of Fire, Emergency and Building Services; Division of Protective Services; Division of Scientific Services.

Mission

The mission of the Department of Public Safety is to provide for the protection of the public by efficient and effective utilization of resources through education, prevention, technology, and enforcement activities.

Improvements/Achievements 2002-03

A. The Division of State Police acquired a tactical armored vehicle outfitted with a mobile adjustable ramp system. The Division also obtained a self-containment vessel that is equipped to handle biological, radioactive, and explosive devices. In addition, two bomb ordinance vehicles were purchased and outfitted with tools to handle a variety of explosive devices. Each Troop was also issued one unmarked non-traditional police car to identify and apprehend aggressive drivers along our state highways.

B. The State Police Bureau of Identification has recently secured a contract for the procurement of a new Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Installation of the system will occur over the next twelve months and will serve law enforcement through Connecticut.

C. The Offices of the State Building Inspector and the State Fire Marshal, working in conjunction with other state agencies continue their involvement with UCONN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY revitalization project and issued a certificate of occupancy upon completion of the work for Rentschler Field, home for the UConn Huskies football. Building permits for Adriaen's Landing were issued paving the way for this enormous project to move forward. The Office of Education and Data Management eliminated paper transfers for training courses by implementing electronic record keeping.

D. The Phase II Wireless 9-1-1 Service providing local dispatchers with geographic location of cellular phone callers requiring emergency services is nearing completion.

E. Since its inception the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Unit, within the Division of Scientific Services, has evolved as a national leader in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.

F. The Computer Crimes Unit's Internet Safety Awareness initiatives have reached more than 15,000 fourth through sixth graders. Over 500 state and local police officers, teachers and victim advocates have been trained and certified to teach the "Play It Safe Online" program throughout the state.

G. Since the inception, the Division of Homeland Security has been named the point of contact for all federal homeland security funding and the assessment and strategy for fiscal year 2004. The Critical Infrastructure Unit was formed to assess the critical infrastructure of the State and determine measures to enhance and improve the overall security of Connecticut. A multi-jurisdictional Task Force was formed to address and investigate concerns identified by State and local agencies pertaining to terrorism issues. A partnership with the University of Connecticut was created to enhance the capacities of the State and local responders through development of a systematic, multi-jurisdictional Homeland Security Training Program for the State of Connecticut. This partnership will allow us to coordinate emergency exercises for the State.

Information Reported as Required by State Statute

The Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, Arthur L. Spada, as Chief Executive Officer, State Fire Marshal, and a member of the State Traffic Commission, is assisted by four Division heads and the following units and functions: Chief of Staff, Public Information Office, Legislative Liaison, Legal Affairs Unit, Equal Employment Compliance Unit, and the Bureau of Management Support.

Fiscal Services managed the agency budget allocation, including a capital outlay of $1,300,486, and management of state and federal grants totaling $12,142,613.

Technological advances have occurred and are continuing. We have a state-of–the art communications system that will provide the infrastructure for an “information highway” capable of transmitting voice, data, images or other critical law enforcement information. The acquisition of the Bell 407 helicopter, “Trooper One”, to the Connecticut State Police fleet of resources has been an enormous success logging over 1,868 flight hours since its inception. This aircraft joins the fixed wing fleet that presently serves our state. The helicopter, “Trooper One,” is a tremendous asset and continuously demonstrates its value to public safety throughout the state. “Trooper One” has been involved in numerous search and rescue missions, drunk and reckless driving enforcement efforts and has also assisted many local fire departments with their efforts in locating or fighting fires. To date, the helicopter has participated in 731 missions for the State of Connecticut and 324 missions for municipal agencies.

The Office of Field Operations, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Edward J. Lynch, is responsible for the delivery of police services statewide through three geographical districts, including a total of 12 Troops, three major crimes squads, three traffic and truck units, the Emergency Services Unit and the Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

During this fiscal year 2002/2003 there were 505,056 calls for service, including 33,900 criminal and 35,364 traffic accident investigations. Motor vehicle law violators were issued 190,000 summonses.

The Office of Administrative Services, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ralph J. Carpenter, is divided into two bureaus, the Bureau of Data Management and Information Technology and the Bureau of Training and Support Services.

With the support of the governor and the legislators, great strides have been made in enhancing identification technology through a new, $10 million Automated Fingerprint Identification System. This system will speed processing of criminal history checks for the ever-increasing requests for fingerprint applicant background checks. Significant progress has been made towards enhancing the Statewide ITAC/ICALL Interoperability communications system for use in emergency situations.

The Division of Fire, Emergency and Building Services, under the command of Division Director Wayne H. Maheu, is comprised of the Office of Education and Data Management, the Office of Statewide Emergency Telecommunications, the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Office of the State Building Inspector. Technical fields with which the division deals with include fire and arson investigation, plan review and engineering, hazardous materials, explosives, amusement rides, elevator and boiler safety and inspection, demolition, crane operation, licensing and permits, telecommunication engineering and system design, and technical training and education in related fields.

The Division of Scientific Services, under the command of Major Timothy Palmbach, is comprised of the Forensic Science Laboratory, the Controlled Substances and Toxicology Laboratory and the Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Unit. During 2002 approximately 16,000 cases were received requiring analysis or laboratory services from the Forensic Science Laboratory. Additionally, 5,400 cases required analysis and/or laboratory services from the Controlled Substances and Toxicology Laboratory. The Computer Crimes Unit, experienced a 38 percent increase in the number of cases, over half of which involve child exploitation.

The Division of Homeland Security, under the command of Deputy Commissioner Vincent J. DeRosa, is the newest division within the Department of Public Safety. This division has evolved since the terrorist activities throughout the United States on September 11, 2001. In addition to being the liaison with the Federal Department of Homeland Security, this Division coordinates efforts and fosters partnerships among state, local and federal agencies so as to utilize all available resources within state government to develop and implement unified safety and security measures to prevent, mitigate and manage incidents threatening the quality of life of the citizens of the State of Connecticut. The Division of Homeland Security is the administrator for $30,158,000 of Federal Homeland Security Grants and is responsible for distribution of 80 percent of the funding to local municipalities.