You asked for statistics on police departments in Connecticut. Specifically, you want to know how many municipal police departments are in the state and the number of sworn officers in each. You also want to know how many towns are under State Police jurisdiction.

SUMMARY

There are 92 municipal police departments in Connecticut (including (1) Groton City, Groton Town, and Groton Long Point, which are counted as municipal police departments for purposes of this report, and (2) Putnam, which is included both in the municipal police department count and as a town under State Police jurisdiction). As of April 2011, the 92 departments employed 6,656 officers.

Eighty-one towns are under State Police jurisdiction either because they do not have their own organized police department or have agreed to let the State Police supervise their police or constables. The State Police provides law enforcement services in these towns through 12 troop locations, with each troop responsible for several towns. Any town that wants its own trooper must execute a contract with the State Police and pay 70% of the trooper's “compensation, maintenance and other expenses.” Otherwise, State Police towns do not pay for any law enforcement services the State Police provides. Fifty-six of the 81 State Police towns have resident state troopers (total 115); the other 25 are served by the State Police troop responsible for the town.

CONNECTICUT MUNICIPAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS

Connecticut has 92 municipal police departments. As of April 2011, they employed a total of 6,656 police officers. Nineteen departments have 100 or more police officers, with the largest five being Hartford (445), New Haven (443), Bridgeport (406), Waterbury (292), and Stamford (282). Fifty-four departments employ 50 or fewer officers, including 13 that employ fewer than 20. (For purposes of this report, we counted Groton, Groton City, and Groton Long Point as municipalities. We also included Putnam, which has an organized police department, although part of the municipality is under State Police jurisdiction.) Table 1 shows the 92 municipal police departments and number of police officers employed in each.

Table 1: Municipal Police Departments in Connecticut as of April 2011 (92)

Source: Police Officer Standards and Training Council

RESIDENT STATE TROOPERS

The State Police is responsible for providing law enforcement coverage, including patrol services, in 81 towns that either do not have an organized police department or have agreed to let the State Police supervise their police officers or constables. It provides the coverage through 12 troops operating from barracks across the state. Each troop is responsible for several towns (see Attachment 1). Normally, officers are not assigned to work exclusively with specific towns. Thus, some towns opt for law enforcement coverage in the form of state police officers stationed in the towns and working exclusively for the towns (i.e., resident troopers).

By law, the public safety commissioner may appoint state police officers as resident state troopers in towns that do not have an organized police force. Resident troopers have the same powers as regular state police officers and are entitled to the same rights and subject to the same rules and regulations as the Division of State Police (CGS § 29-5). A town that wants resident troopers must enter into a contract with the State Police. The contract can be for up to two years and may be terminated by either party.

Each town pays 70% of the cost of the resident trooper's “compensation, maintenance and other expenses” (CGS § 29-5). This includes 70% of the wages and fringe benefits associated with overtime, according to a 2009 attorney general's opinion (Attorney General Op. 2009-005, June 30, 2009). The actual dollar figure may vary depending on the assigned trooper's pay grade.

Currently 56 towns have resident state troopers. Just over half of them (30) have only one resident trooper; one-quarter (14) of them have two; and 12 have three or more, with Mansfield having the most (8). The total number of resident troopers currently assigned in the 56 towns is 115 (see Table 1).

Table 2: Towns with Resident State Troopers as of April 2011 (56)

Source: Division of State Police

*Towns with police officers or constables supervised by the State Police

TOWNS UNDER STATE POLICE JURISDICTION

Twenty-five of the 81 towns under State Police jurisdiction do not have resident troopers. The State Police, through its 12 troops, provides a full range of law enforcement services in these towns (see Table 3).

Table 3: Non-Resident Trooper Towns Under State Police Jurisdiction as of April 2011 (25)

Source: Division of State Police

*The town of Putnam has a service district that has its own police department but the rest of the town is under State Police jurisdiction.

**The State Police, on its own initiative, has stationed three troopers in the Windham Heights Housing project because of public safety issues associated with the project. These services are provided at no cost to the town.

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