Bridgeport police present multi-year hiring plan, vehicle and tech needs; overtime remains a pressure point

Police leadership urged the Bridgeport City Council budget committee to support targeted personnel and capital investments on April 30, arguing that added supervision, vehicles and technology will improve response times, investigative capacity and officer wellness.

"It is paramount that I'm fiscally responsible," the police chief told the committee as he opened the department's presentation, then outlined a four-year plan to increase supervised ranks and overall sworn strength. The chief said the department is rebuilding "from the bottom up" and is seeking to add lieutenants, sergeants and detectives to reduce supervisory span-of-control and the investigative backlog.

The department requested returning to a budgeted staffing target around 400 sworn officers over several years to support proactive policing and more consistent community presence. "The goal is not simply more officers, but more improved response times and proactive policing," the chief said.

Fleet condition and capital needs were a major point: police staff described an aging marked-fleet averaging roughly nine years, with many cars over 100,000 miles. The department estimated a fully equipped patrol vehicle costs in the mid five figures (presentation staff gave a working estimate of about $65,000 including equipment) and asked the committee to consider increased capital to maintain reliable field vehicles.

Technology requests included a cloud-storage contract to meet Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) and court evidence standards. IT staff said courts now prefer secure cloud transfer of video and case files rather than portable drives; the department presented a multi-year pricing option and asked for the minimum option to get in compliance.

Real-time crime-center staff described ShotSpotter coverage and city camera feeds that they said materially aided multiple arrests and rapid suspect identification; they noted the housing authority previously shared ShotSpotter costs but could not contribute this year, increasing the department's recurring cost exposure.

Assistant Chief Caposi described a new overtime-tracking system and said spikes in overtime came from operational necessities: two major winter storms and several violent incidents drove recent months' costs higher. "These weren't from mismanagement; it was operational necessity," he said, while noting some overtime is unavoidable even at full staffing because of hospital holds, court obligations and mandated training.

Committee members pressed for clarity on revenue lines and fees: a council member flagged towing permit fees that were listed at $5,000 in the budget book but said a proposed ordinance to raise the fee did not pass and that the correct figure remains $3,000; finance staff agreed to correct the booking of those line items and follow up with auditors.

On staffing counts, police staff said the proposed budget adds one new sworn (certified) position and two civilian positions for the coming fiscal year; members asked for a consolidated net-position table and for pension and other totals to be explicitly totaled in future materials. The committee also requested detail on crossing-guard headcount and the composition of special details for parades and festivals.

The department exhibited the police budget document and agreed to provide additional data (detailed staffing totals, revenue-line corrections and cloud-contract options) for follow-up review before final votes.