Extra Police Patrols Added To Crack Down Against Violent Crimes In Milford

MILFORD, CT – Through a state grant, Milford Police Department is placing extra patrols in the city to deter auto thefts and violent crimes.

Milford’s Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the State of Connecticut Grant Agreement during their Tuesday, June 6 meeting.

“This grant covers all auto thefts and related crimes,” Captain Donald McCollum said. “We are going to put out patrols in various areas we have had auto thefts and any places where we have interrupted a violent.”

The state grant provides $35,000 additional funding to the Milford Police Department.

“Having the extra $35,000 allows us to address this issue without impacting other issues we face during summertime,” McCollum said.

McCollum said the way they are going to find out which areas to focus on is by using data from the patrol shifts.

“Usually, if it’s midnight, we will have many more residential calls because people are on and off the highway,” he said. “So, units can be in any of those residential neighborhoods during midnights.”

McCollum said if they identify stolen cars at Walmart or any businesses along the corridor, they will deploy officers whose shifts are in line when those stores are open.

“We are going to deploy two officers in marked units in those areas that we identify that these types of crimes are taking place,” he said.

Once the $35,000 is used by the police department, McCollum said they would not continue the program but have other ways to tackle these types of crimes.

“We do it now with our tactical patrols, but we can’t focus all our attention on one issue with the other we have,” he said. “With this extra money, we can focus on this one issue, but under normal circumstances, we focus on multiple issues and see what is more pressing.”