LEONARD C. BOYLE,
Commissioner
Colonel Edward J. Lynch, Deputy
Commissioner
Established
- 1903
Statutory authority
– Conn. Gen. Statutes Sec. 29-1b
Central office -
1111 Country Club Road,
Middletown, CT 06457-9294
Number of employees
- 1,668, including 1,201 Troopers and 467 civilians
Recurring operating expenses
- $137.7 million
Organizational
structure – Office of the Commissioner; Division of State Police; Division of
Fire, Emergency & Building Services; Division of Scientific Services.
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.
(1)
Protect the state and its citizens from
harm.
(2)
Enforce State and Federal laws fairly,
evenly and equitably.
(3)
Deliver services to the community through
cooperative policing efforts.
(4)
Coordinate both inside and outside the
department to provide public safety services.
(5)
Maintain and acquire efficient technology
to provide for a quality workplace.
(6)
Advance equal employment opportunity and
career development for employees in the workplace.
(7)
Accomplish these ends in keeping with the
highest ethical and professional standards.
The Department
of Public Safety consists of three divisions:
the Division of State Police, the Division of Fire, Emergency, and
Building Services, and the Division of Scientific Services. The Commissioner of the Department of Public
Safety, Leonard C. Boyle, as Chief Executive Officer, State Fire Marshal, and a
member of the State Traffic Commission, is assisted by three Division heads and
the following units and functions:
Chief of Staff, Public Information Office, Legislative Liaison, Legal
Affairs Unit, Equal Opportunity Employment Compliance Unit, and the Bureau of
Management Support.
The
Bureau of Management Support, under the direction of Chief Fiscal
Administrative Officer Michael R. Wambolt, comprises Fiscal Services, Human
Resources, and Employee Safety/OSHA.
Fiscal Services is responsible for the preparation, management and
expenditure of the agency’s $138 million operating budget, as well as the
administration of the $5 million capital budget, $100 million of state and
federal grants, and $5 million of other funded programs. The units constituting Fiscal Services
include Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Accounting,
the Quartermaster and Inventory Control.
In FY 04, the unit processed over 6,000 purchase orders and paid over
15,000 invoices. The agency’s inventory
is valued at more than $100 million.
Human Resources provides a uniform and equitable system of personnel
administration for the agency’s 1,668 employees who are members of seven labor
unions, and also administers the agency’s Workers’ Compensation program. The agency’s safety officer conducts
comprehensive occupational safety inspections of department facilities to
ensure compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and works
to reduce employee injuries and Workers’ Compensation costs.
Colonel Edward J. Lynch is the Commanding Officer of the Division of State Police. The Division is divided into two components: the Office of Field Operations, which provides law enforcement and public safety services to Connecticut’s citizens, and the Office of Administrative Services, which supports field operations, maintains several registries and licensing bureaus, and selects and trains Connecticut State Troopers.
The
Office of Field Operations, under the command of Lt. Col. Vincent E. McSweeney,
is responsible for the delivery of police services statewide through three
geographical districts, including a total of 12 Troops, three major crime
squads, a traffic services unit, the Emergency Services Unit and the Bureau of
Criminal Investigations.
During
the fiscal year 2004/2005 there were 465,108 calls for service, including 27,299
criminal and 34,672 traffic accident investigations. Troopers issued 200,787 summonses for violations of motor vehicle
laws.
The Connecticut State Police
received initial accreditation status through the Commission on Accreditation
for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in 1988.
Our Agency completed its most recent on-site assessment in April
2004. Following this successful
assessment, we have received re-accreditation status through 2006. The formal awarding of this certification
was made at the CALEA Conference held in Buffalo, New York on July 31st,
2004. This accreditation demonstrates
our agency’s compliance with the most stringent of administrative and
operational standards. These standards
are recognized and accepted both nationally and internationally. The Connecticut State Police remain one of
the larger CALEA accredited agencies.
The
Division of State Police is committed to ensuring that the public safety needs
of the citizens of the State of Connecticut are met. In the aftermath of the September 11th
terrorist attacks and with the mandate of Homeland Security in the United
States, the Division of State Police continues to deploy State Troopers in the
continuing effort to maintain the safety and security of the citizens of the
State of Connecticut.
In July 2004, the
State of Massachusetts requested law enforcement assistance at the Democratic
National Convention in Boston. Governor M. Jodi Rell deployed thirty-five State
Troopers to assist the Massachusetts State Police with security at the
convention. In August 2004, the State
of New York requested law enforcement assistance at the Republican National
Convention in New York City. Governor Rell deployed 40 State Troopers to assist
the New York State Police. State
Troopers provided security on all Metro-North and Amtrak passenger trains
traveling into Connecticut from Grand Central Station and Penn Station in New
York.
In
April 2005, the State of Connecticut participated in a multi-national Homeland
Security exercise called “TopOff 3”. Participating along with the State of
Connecticut was the State of New Jersey and the countries of Canada and Great
Britain. Governor Rell deployed 150 State Troopers to participate in this
training exercise from April 1st through April 6th.
On
January 1, 2005, the Division of Homeland Security and the Department of
Emergency Management combined, to form the Department of Emergency Management
and Homeland Security (DEMHS) under the command of Commissioner James “Skip”
Thomas. The law enforcement component
of the new agency currently consists of members of the Connecticut State
Police, working under a Memorandum of Understanding with the new agency. The collaboration of the two agencies (DPS
and DEMHS) will help to insure a comprehensive approach to all law enforcement
aspects of public safety by both agencies.
Troopers assigned to
the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security continued to act
as the liaison with the federal Department of Homeland Security. The unit has
worked cooperatively and collaboratively with all local, state, and federal
agencies in a continued effort to foster and maintain partnerships that will
provide the best unified approach to the prevention, mitigation and management
of incidents, natural or manmade, that threaten the quality of life enjoyed by
the citizens of the State of Connecticut.
The
Office of Administrative Services (OAS), under the command of Lieutenant
Colonel Cheryl A. Malloy, is divided into two bureaus, the Bureau of Technology
and Telecommunications Resources and the Bureau of Training and Support
Services. OAS also includes the
Infrastructure Planning and Facilities Management Section.
OAS
provides training, planning and support to the agency through a wide array of
commands, including the State Police Training Academy, Selections and
Investigative Support, Support Services, Crimes Analysis, COMPSTAT, Grants
Administration, Community Policing, Fleet Administration, Field Technology, DPS
Communications Center, Criminal Justice Information Services, Bond Management
and Capitol Improvement.
With the support of the
Governor and the General Assembly, great strides have been made in enhancing
identification technology through a $7.6 million Automated Fingerprint
Identification System. This system
began operation in October 2004 and has dramatically sped up the processing of
criminal offender and civil applicant fingerprint operations. Significant progress has also been made
towards enhancing the Statewide ITAC/ICALL Interoperability communications
system for use in emergency situations.
The Division of Fire, Emergency and Building
Services (“DFEBS”), under the command of Division Executive Director Wayne H. Maheu,
comprises 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.
The
DFEBS has responsibility for a range of non-police related public safety
matters. Duties include administering the state fire safety code to
insure that fire will not take a life in our place of work or recreation,
assuring the safety of children riding carnival rides, assuring assistance when
our citizens and visitors dial “9-1-1” for help, overseeing the construction of
college dormitories to insure the safety of the residents, the inspection of
the elevators throughout the State, inspecting the boilers that heat and power
our State, and training local officials to perform their public safety
responsibilities. The members of the
Division of Fire, Emergency and Building Services are committed to
professionalism in the preservation of life and property.
The Division of
Scientific Services consists of the Forensic Science Laboratory, the Controlled
Substances and Toxicology Laboratory and the Computer Crimes and Electronic
Evidence Unit. During 2004 the Forensic
Science Laboratory received approximately 72,000 cases requiring analysis or
other laboratory services.
Additionally, the Controlled Substances and Toxicology Laboratory
received approximately 6,000 cases for analysis. The Computer Crimes and Electronic Evidence Unit experienced a 10
percent increase in the number of cases, which involve child exploitation.
A.
The State Police Bureau of
Identification secured a contract for the procurement of a new Automated
Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) in October 2003. The system was designed and installed in ten
months and began operations in October 2004.
With over fifty electronic fingerprinting devices called Live Scans
connected to AFIS, approximately seventy percent of all criminal fingerprint
submissions in Connecticut are being electronically processed. The project, at a projected cost of $7.6
million, was delivered on time and under budget. Also, the state police COLLECT Unit is in the process of
replacing the state’s law enforcement communications system. This is an
$8.5 million project that is well into the testing phase with full
implementation expected by Spring 2006.
Both of these major criminal justice/public safety projects are being
funded through approved bonding.
B. The original AFIS System has been upgraded to allow faster
turn-around time for latent fingerprint searches. Latent fingerprint terminals also allow for direct searching of
the IAFIS, a national fingerprint database administered by the FBI.
C. In April
2005, the 116th Training Troop graduated from the Training Academy
in Meriden, adding 53 new troopers to the field troops geographically located
throughout the state.
D.
The agency has begun a computer
generated statistical analysis (COMPSTAT) of all activities so as to more effectively
deploy personnel and resources to combat criminal activity and areas of a high
concentration of accidents. This COMPSTAT initiative is modeled after that of
the New York City police department and will soon be implemented in all
12-field troops.
E. The
CTS unit has trained 380 Dispatchers, Police Officers, Firefighters, and EMS
professionals in the operations of ITAC/ICALL.
We have also issued 721 portable ITAC/ICALL radios to local authorities
and have assigned 72 to the Office of Emergency Management Decontamination
Trailers, to ensure radio interoperability statewide. All personnel who have been issued the portable radios have been
trained in its proper use.
F. The Office of Statewide Emergency
Telecommunications completed the upgrade of all 107 public safety-answering
points (PSAPs) to provide location information for cellular 9-1-1 calls. This initiative required the acquisition and
installation of digital mapping at each location. A map update process is underway to ensure that the map
information is correct for all 169 towns and cities in Connecticut. They also completed a study of funding for
all public safety answering points, which resulted in the passage of
legislation to increase funding levels to all PSAPs, and implemented a public
education program regarding the use of 911.
Public service announcements featuring Governor Rell have been created
and are being aired on television and radio stations.
G. The Office of the State Building
Inspector has completed the 2005 State Building Code and readied it for the
adoption process and prepared and delivered multiple educational programs based
on the new code. They have also reduced
the turnaround time for building code modification requests. The Bureau of Boilers has reduced the inspection
backlog from 40 percent to zero and, at the same time, has cleared 1,000
violations.
H. The Office of State Fire Marshal
(OSFM) promulgated a New State Fire Safety Code, which matches the requirements
of the New State Building Code and saw that Connecticut’s First Fire Prevention
Code was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor.
I. With the change in the law for
licensing requirements for Hoisting Equipment Operators that became effective
on October 1, 2004, the volume of requests for new licenses in the License and
Permit Section of the OSFM increases daily to bring the previous fiscal year
total of 2,000 licenses issued to over 3,000 since October 1.
J. LUMA Lights and Laser Survey
equipment have been purchased for both Fire Investigation Units in the OSFM and
their safety equipment was upgraded to respirators and self-contained breathing
apparatus to ensure the safety of the fire scene investigators.
K. The Office of Education and Data
Management (OEDM) is revising training curriculum for Building and Fire
Officials in accordance with the new CT Fire Safety Code and new CT State
Building Code along with the training curriculum for the E 9-1-1
Telecommunicators. The OEDM, along with
the Department of Information Technology, is developing reports to summarize
fire data submitted under the CT Fire Incident Reporting System which will be
available on line on their website by August 1, 2005.
L. The Forensic Science Laboratory has
been chosen as one of four laboratories to form a Regional Mitochondrial DNA
Laboratory in partnership with the FBI.
This fully FBI-supported program involves hiring and training laboratory
personnel, as well as funding for all equipment and supplies. It is anticipated that casework will begin
in September 2005.
M. The Forensic Science Laboratory
continued to expand its Convicted Felon DNA Database with 15,000+ samples
collected and submitted during 2004.
Those samples are now in the process of being analyzed and added to the
CODIS/DNA Database.
N. The Critical Infrastructure Unit has
been working in conjunction with the federal Department of Homeland Security,
private industry and local municipalities in the Buffer Zone Protection Program
(BZPP) in an effort to improve physical security at sites deemed “critical”
within the state of Connecticut, by the federal Department of Homeland
Security. The unit has completed the
first phase of the BZPP, (17 sites), and it is anticipated that future sites
will be identified in the near future. The unit continues to provide security
assessments for critical infrastructure that include the POSTC Training Academy
and Pitkin Tunnel in New Haven to name a few.
The unit is currently working in conjunction with CONN-DOT in the
physical security assessment of all rail facilities within their purview.
O. The Statewide Anti-Terrorism Task
Force has co-located with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in an effort to
streamline investigations and response to terrorism related allegations and
incidents. As well, all agencies will maintain a Field Intelligence Group
(FIG), essentially acting as a clearinghouse for terrorist and criminal
intelligence, which is then distributed statewide to all law enforcement
agencies. This multi-jurisdictional
approach is truly a milestone for the State of Connecticut and should enhance
the ability of all federal, state and local agencies to share vital
intelligence in a timely fashion.
P. The Statewide Anti – Terrorism
Training component continues to train state and local law enforcement officers
in the area of Suicide Bomber and State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training
(SLATT) and have trained approximately 4,000 officers to date. Operation Safeguard, a terrorism awareness
training program, is also provided for private security entities with over 400
trained to date. A Terrorism Liaison
Officer Program (TLO) has been
initiated to identify and train liaison officers within each agency to improve
the overall sharing of terrorism related information statewide. Two TLO conferences have been held to date,
which have included over 400 state and local officers. A third TLO conference was held exclusively
for executive level personnel with over 150 attendees.
Q.
The Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) successfully
participated in “TOPOFF 3” working jointly with USAR teams from Massachusetts
and New Jersey. The mission during this
drill was searching for, locating and recovering victims within in a simulated
5 story building collapse, (rubble pile) built specifically for the drill. The rubble pile, which in fact is a
professionally engineered training environment, was moved from the “TOPOFF 3”
site to a site at Bradley Airport. The
training environment, the first of its kind in the northeast, will be utilized
in the future to train USAR members, K-9 teams, as well as other special units
within the State Police and outside agencies.
R.
In May 2005, Governor Rell instituted the “Following Too
Closely” Campaign, a joint effort of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the
Connecticut State Police to combat the dangerous practice of tailgating. As of July 4, 2005, nearly 1,000 citations
have been issued to commercial and passenger vehicles for violating the state
statute against Following Too Closely.