This section contains information on officer demographics and departmental initiatives related to equitable policing practices that was input directly by the department through a survey. Watertown Police Department submitted its responses to the context survey on May 9, 2022.
Watertown, CT 2022
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DEPARTMENTAL CONTEXT
Findings should be interpreted alongside context about the demographics of local residents, the demographics of sworn officers, and the department’s work toward racial equity.
RESIDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
The population of Watertown, Connecticut is 91% White, 4.5% Latinx, 2% Black, 1.7% Asian, 0.7% Multiple Racial Groups, and 0.1% Other. The total population of Watertown, Connecticut is 21,832.
These city demographics were taken from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2018 five-year estimates. The “Other” category, if applicable, matches the Census Bureau’s definition of “Other” racial group. See the Data Notes tab for information on how CPE defines racial groups.
OFFICER DEMOGRAPHICS
These demographics were provided by the department as of May 2021.
ABOUT THIS ASSESSMENT
Watertown Police Department (WPD) joined CPE’s National Justice Database project in February 2021. WPD shared data with CPE in order to receive analyses intended to support community and law enforcement collaboration on data-informed efforts to enhance equity in public safety. This assessment analyzes vehicle stop data from October 2013 – December 2020 and calls for service and officer activity data from January 1, 2014 – July 1, 2020.
DEPARTMENT SUMMARY OF ITS KEY INITIATIVES
WPD has recently updated its policies on stops, use of force, and racial profiling. In addition, WPD has implemented new training programs, programs to elicit community input on department policies/practices, and programs to reduce use of force or promote equity or community trust.
DEPARTMENT SUMMARY OF ITS RACIAL EQUITY INITIATIVES
The Watertown Police Department (WPD) continues to make transparent, community focused policing a top priority. The WPD began working with CPE in 2019 under Chief John Gavallas who retired on 12/31/2020, at which time Deputy Chief Joshua Bernegger was appointed Chief of Police. The WPD takes fair and impartial policing, and the concept of racial equity, very seriously which has been affirmed through policy changes, mandated training, social media outreach, community partnerships, Department initiatives, and most importantly – organizational culture.
The WPD is committed to transparent policing and was an early adopter of dash and body cameras for all vehicles and officers, respectively. Despite the difficulties during COVID, the WPD has trained all sworn personnel in Biased-based Profiling, Searches of Motor Vehicles and Person, and Terry Stops over the past two years. Furthermore, the WPD has either revised or issued policies on the following between 2019-2022: Family Violence, Field Interviews, Photo Lineups, Pursuit, Crowd Control, Use of Force, Officer-involved Shootings, Crisis Intervention Training, Biased-based Policing, Hostage Negotiation/Barricaded Subject, Communicable Diseases, Complaints of Alleged Misconduct, Prisoner Detention/Holding Facility, and Body Worn Cameras/Dash Cameras.
To enhance community-outreach, the WPD has revamped its website to be more informative and user-friendly, and expanded its social-media footprint, resulting in a doubling of its followers. Prior to COVID, the WPD hosted its 12th Citizen Police Academy, and started its first ever Youth Police Academy before being shut down by the pandemic. Both Academies have re-commenced in May 2022. The WPD has also cultivated important community partnerships, including one with the Litchfield County Opioid Taskforce where we are an active participant with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative.
Following the killing of Mr. George Floyd in May, 2020, the Town of Watertown hosted several racial justice rallies/protests. A large portion of the success of these rallies can be attributed to the positive relationships that were already in place between the police department and the community. WPD’s high school resource officer had developed trusting relationships with the organizers of these protests over the course of their high school careers which proved instrumental in developing a dialogue and working together to plan successful events. Lastly, the importance of organizational culture in addressing the concern of racial equity cannot be understated. Culture at the WPD is constantly assessed and addressed through virtuous leadership and the appropriate modeling of behavior.
DEPARTMENT SUMMARY OF ITS COMMUNITY OUTREACH INITIATIVES
The WPD utilizes several methods to reach out and inform the community of various programs, initiatives, and other notable events. These methods include press releases, advertising on the department’s website and social media page, and the placement of fliers in town buildings including the schools, libraries, senior center and town hall. In an effort to enhance the WPD’s relationship with community youth, the WPD developed its first Youth Police Academy in early 2020, which has proven instrumental in establishing two-way conversation with tomorrow’s leaders. The WPD’s adult Citizen Police Academy (CPA) is also a means by which the department informs the community of our policies and initiatives. These CPA’s have been well-attended and highly-reviewed. An upcoming initiative will be the establishment of a meaningful performance evaluation program for all WPD officers focusing on professional development and virtuous policing.
