Bridgeport – Mayor Joe Ganim announced today that the Bridgeport Police Department will be establishing permanent patrols in the city’s public housing projects, providing a heightened level of security to areas that have seen spikes in violent crimes. To accomplish this, Mayor Ganim has established a Community Policing Task Force within the Bridgeport Police Department. The announcement was made at the newly re-opened Bridgeport Police neighborhood substation near the Trumbull Gardens housing community. The task force will consist of two Sergeants and sixteen Police Officers who will be assigned to duty in Trumbull Gardens, Charles F. Greene Homes, PT Barnum Apartments, Marina Village and Harborview Towers as well as other locations as needed. The officers will be deployed over two eight-hour shifts per day. New security cameras installed in the public housing locations will ultimately be connected to the police monitoring center located at 999 Broad Street and will produce real-time intelligence for greater deterrence and resident safety.
“As of today, we are fully committed to community policing in our public housing projects,” said Mayor Ganim. “All Bridgeport residents are entitled to feel safe and secure in their own homes. Without police investing in our public housing communities, the criminal element is allowed to run illicit drug and gun rackets in the apartment buildings and towers. Often residents just trying to go about their daily lives in these housing projects are terrorized and afraid to even let their children outside to play out of fear of stray bullets. From today on, our police officers will be there to protect and empower the residents of these communities by gaining their trust and working in partnership. We are here to stay.”
The specialized community policing unit will perform patrols throughout the buildings and around the grounds of the housing projects to reduce the incidence of crime and to establish avenues of communication with the residents. The officers assigned to the Community Policing task force will also help organize tenant patrols and youth groups, as well as develop leaders to monitor those entering the buildings. The officers will also make recommendations for the improvement of infrastructure such as camera placement, hallway lighting, door locks and intercom systems within the housing projects.
The Bridgeport Housing authority has agreed to commit $600,000 to fund the community policing effort. The City of Bridgeport has committed to funding at least $400,000 in bonding for infrastructure improvements and beautification in the various public housing projects.