New Canaan Police are planning to re-introduce two programs in 2016 that are designed to bolster public understanding of their jobs and create even stronger relationships between the department and wider community.
New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski
According to Police Chief Leon Krolikowski, departmental priorities for this year include launching a Civilian Police Academy and hosting an Open House at the agency’s South Avenue headquarters, possibly as early as May.
Neither initiative has been taken up in several years, and each could help address misunderstandings about police work including “the perception that we give a lot of tickets out and the revenue goes to town,” Krolikowski told NewCanaanite.com.
“That’s not the case at all,” the chief said. “Somewhere about a third [of motor vehicle stops] are, and the rest are warnings.” (The New Canaan Police Department’s recently launched and publicly viewable “daily incident logs,” available here online, bear out Krolikowski’s estimate.)
“Another part of this is that people who are not familiar with police work often think that a crime should be solved within hours, and it generally is not possible,” he added.
The Open House would see visiting members of the community move through stations at the department to hear about and ask questions concerning various aspects of police work from the different NCPD sections and units.
The Civilian Police Academy likely would run between eight to 10 weeks, with one session per week, and explains various parts of motor vehicle and criminal law, as well as investigations, he said.