People in Waterbury are seeking improvements with their police force by giving feedback on what they want to see happen with their police department.
This comes as the city hired a national consulting firm, Barry Dunn, to conduct an efficiency study on the department.
Top of mind for them is how to improve their police department. Alderman Vernon Matthews Jr. said a consistent plea has been needing to hire more police officers and retain them.
“A lot of times, we lose these people because they see that it’s stagnant or it's management so they may go some other place where they make more money,” he said.
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Community members wanted to see the city incentivize officers with better pay and benefits.
Matthews said one solution would be to find candidates within the city at local schools. He believes that starts with building trust with them.
“We have to gain a way to inform children that one, it’s okay to be a police officer and two, that it’s a good paying job,” he said.
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These suggestions were all taken down by the consulting firm. Waterbury Police Lt. Ryan Bessette said the community’s voice will be heard.
“We’re real appreciative of the people here tonight providing input. This is very important to us. We are fortunate to have a comprehensive study done,” Bessette said.
He said this study will help provide a much-needed update for the department.
“The last time this kind of study was done was 2003. It’s quite some time. Policing has changed quite a bit,” he said.
Change Matthews is looking forward to seeing when recommendations are made.
“We heard what the community was saying. This is the steps that you need to do,” Matthews said.
Waterbury Police say the study is expected to be completed in spring of next year.
