With the new fiscal year upon us, I want to take this opportunity to share with you some of the Hartford Police Department's strategic goals as adopted in the 2010-11 City Budget.
First and foremost, I wish to express my appreciation to the Mayor and City Council for their inclusion of a new recruit class of 30 that will begin training in the next fiscal year. While we have enjoyed the support of the Mayor, City Council, and the community we serve in recent years with annual recruit classes, and in some instances more than one class in a year, retirements continue to deplete our manpower. In the first quarter of 2010, twelve veteran officers retired; the sum total of police officer retirements in 2009. This trend is projected to continue into the next fiscal year.
Other strategic goals focus on improved customer service through on-line access to records division forms and accident reports. On-line access to accident reports and record's division forms will improve customer service through increased efficiency and a quicker turn-around time to requests. An additional benefit will be the countless hours of time saved by both our customers and staff. Additionally, we will be installing new scheduling software in the private duty office.
Another major project in the next fiscal year will be an upgrade and redesign of the department's website. Our goal is to transform the department's website from a static, organization based format to a user based design in order to improve navigation and public access to information. I invite you to share your ideas of improvement to the website by emailing me at policechief@hartford.gov.
In the meantime, I encourage you to visit the Hartford Police Department's website at www.hartford.gov/police, where you can view my 2010-11 budget presentation, the entire Hartford Police Department budget for FY 2010-11, weekly crime statistics, and information on a myriad of subjects important to the quality of life in our city.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts and ideas on how we can better serve and protect. I am confident that working together we can improve service, build positive relationships, and ultimately make our city safer for us all. You have my commitment as your chief of police to continue to strive for excellence in all we do, as I firmly believe "success is never final."
Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts
