Police Station Makeover

(Correction: Many of the acquisitions mentioned in this article were made while Leonard Gallo was the active chief, including the new security cameras, guns, radios, some of the new vehicles and bulletproof vests. We apologize.)

On Jan. 24, 2011, at 7:30 a.m., East Haven cops did something they'd never done before: They took their recertification training in house. Historically, they've trained in Meriden or at area police departments.

The training room was renovated and equipped over the last few months to make East Haven a training destination for its own officers and those from away. It's one of the efforts acting Police Chief Gaetano Nappi has made to give the 37-year-old North High Street headquarters its first real upgrade and update.

"It's like being in your house. You like to be in a clean environment," said Nappi. "It's much more aesthetic. A good working environment is priceless."

Since he took over last April when Chief Leonard Gallo was put on paid administrative leave, the walls have gotten a fresh coat of paint. The cellblocks have been refurbished. There's a new computer system and file server. A new heating and cooling system. New security cameras. New guns. New radios. New vehicles. New bulletproof vests.

On the near horizon, Nappi said the aged radio-room floor will be replaced with ceramic tiles. And two squad cars will be outfitted with plate-reader devices, which scan license plates to check for motor vehicle and criminal violations.

“When I first took office three years ago one of the main concerns that I heard from officers was a lack of updating and maintenance at the police station," said Mayor April Capone. Asked how the bills were paid, she said by grants, asset forfeitures, capital improvement funds and "very little" from the general fund, but didn't supply exact numbers.

Nappi said each plate reader rang in at $25,000 and the new training room also cost $25,000.

Beforehand, he said the room was used for storage. The tab included two 42-inch TV screens, a projector system, four PCs and rows of new desks and chairs. And a coat of paint. Both he and Capone said training officers at the home base should save tax dollars by reducing overtime incurred by traveling to other sites. Also, outside departments using the facility pay a fee.

Establishing the in-house training was at least partly in reaction to the U.S. Department of Justice's preliminary civil investigation report issued last summer, which cited the department for insufficient training among many other weaknesses. The DOJ's final report has yet to arrive, according to the mayor.

"Traditionally in this department, there's little (training) above the minimum," said Nappi. "I feel in this day and age officers need more. You want your officers to be proficient. So there's never too much training. Training is invaluable."

In addition to the required recertification, Nappi said this May he plans to start hosting specialized training in things like accident investigation and use of force. He said he'd like to see more of his officers train to become instructors.

Another $53,000 on headquarters' facelift bill has been earmarked for the state's e-ticket system, said Nappi. It's a new way to report motor vehicle tickets. Instead of the current multi-step paper process, cops can send tickets to the state and back to the station simultaneously from their patrol car computers, he said.

"We're trying to cut down on manpower hours and paper dedicated to these tasks and trying to go paperless," said Nappi.