[Editor's Note: Each month, East Haven Patch readers post their questions for East Haven Interim Police Chief . The following are the answers to this month's four selected questions.]
Q: Back in 1975, a young woman's body was found bound and dumped in a drainage ditch on Frontage Road. She died of asphyxiation. To my knowledge, this murder has never been solved. It was only with great effort that I was able to find any information about this case.
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/93ufct.html
With the internet now providing information to a much broader audience, is the Detective division actively doing anything to reach out to the public via the internet or via ETV on this and other "cold cases"? I see nothing of the sort on the PD's website: http://www.townofeasthavenct.org/police.shtml
Maybe a link on the PD webpage to the top five or ten "cold cases" would generate some leads which could finally bring some justice to the victims.
Thank you.
A: For the majority of the time I have been in East Haven, we have been working with only two or three detectives. Two detectives retired and another one was on injured on duty status. Their current workload precludes us from doing “cold cases.” One of the current detectives has been primarily assigned to conduct background investigations to help with the hiring process.
In the fall, the Town will administer a detectives’ test and based on man power needs of the department we will appoint new detectives. For several weeks, we have been developing our website www.easthavenpolice.com which we intend to have up by next week although it will still be under construction. That site will be linked to Facebook, Twitter and other sites we deem useful.
Q: Many residents signed a position to bring back the K9 unit. Will that be brought back?
A: Currently, we have an internal job posting for a K-9 Handler, which we intend to fill at the beginning of September. During my career, I have been a proponent of K-9 units. That being said, the need for a K-9 Unit must be balanced against the needs of the Town and the department. K-9 Units are very expensive and that expense needs to be balanced against the use of the K-9. The K-9 Unit will have to compete for our limited internal resources. Any expense for the Unit needs to be justified by the calls for service for a dog and handler.
Q: Chief, there seems to be a problem at the intersection of Dodge Ave and Robert Dr. Cars traveling on Dodge Ave, in either direction, feel they have the right of way and quite often, ignore the stop sign. Can you maybe have a patrol car sit in the parking lot of Pathways and ticket the ignorant drivers who ignore the stop sign?
A: Over the course of the last couple of months, the department has increased enforcement of moving violations. As of July 2nd whenever available, officers have been assigned to Dodge Avenue to primarily look for stop sign violators. To date, there have been a total of 29 motor vehicle stops on Dodge Avenue. We will continue with this effort.
The goals of motor vehicle enforcement are to reduce crashes, reduce violations and correct improper driver’s behavior. We want the Town of East Haven to be a safe community where people can drive and walk with the expectation that their fellow motorists will obey the law.
Q: Chief, I have one major question, well a two part one,, first when is there going to be some noise control about souped up cars with stright pipes and atv's and dirtbikes running all over town unlicenced,Part two is the speed on Short Beach road especially from the Stone Pillers, on is excessive, you could support the town on the money you could make on speeding tickets. The speed limit is 35 mph, I have yet to see one car going less than 50 mph. At night its a nightmare here. from,5pm on the speed flys. I am starting to call Riverside Dodge city. I think you are going to be an asset to the town, but I have to see the results first. Thanks for taking the time to listen.
A: Yes, the Town purchased two noise meters some time ago. Recently, we were able to train an officer in the use of those meters. The goal is to deploy the meters at the end of this month or the beginning of September.
Noise meters are difficult to use and very labor intensive. It is not a simple process of reading the noise level. Precise measurements must be taken and there are variables which must be factored into the enforcement equation.
I have asked the officers of the East Haven Police Department to increase their motor vehicle enforcement activities especially radar/laser speed enforcement. I’m proud to say they have responded to that request. I will instruct the Patrol Commander to add Short Beach Road to the radar list.
Lastly, enforcing ATVs and dirt bike violations is very difficult, primarily because where they ride. We have tried using unmarked cars, taking pictures of the offenders and trying to change some of the areas where they ride. We will continue to monitor ATV and dirt bike activity and take enforcement action whenever necessary. We are aware they are an annoyance to many in our community.
