As the saying goes, “time goes by fast when working with a great team.” I am quickly approaching my first full year as Granby’s Chief of Police and the time has flown by. Many accomplishments, some challenges and unexpected opportunities have unfolded this year, and I am grateful for this corner to reach out to the community.
For those who don’t know me, my name is Scott Sansom and I’m the Granby Police Chief. My background consists of 20 years working with the Hartford Police Department, retiring as the deputy chief, and 10 years as chief of police for the town of East Hartford. Leading a police department of any size presents challenges — whether chief in East Hartford or Granby. Over the past year we have hired new employees, appointed a new detective, increased our professional development, made updates to out-of-date equipment and began to build a community policing platform. Lastly, we began to transition our department to become tier three state accredited.
This past year we hired two new dispatchers and two new police officers. It takes almost a year to fully train and state-certify a dispatcher before they qualify to work independently. However, I am pleased to announce that during this first year we have hired and fully trained Christine Hedge and Alexandria Litter. In addition to telecommunicator staff, two certified officers were hired and trained, replacing two others who had retired. Officer C. Dufresne started in January, and Officer T. Deloy started in September. Both are experienced officers we are very proud to have on the GPD team.
As we hired and trained new officers, we also began a new professional development program. Many of our sergeants attended leadership training with the FBI and other organizations. Our newly appointed detective also participated in numerous certification training courses throughout the state. This professional development program will allow our officers to provide the best service possible to the citizens of Granby.
Public Act 22-119 tasks all Connecticut police departments to become advanced accredited. Though the Granby PD is accredited through CALEA at first tier, this public act raised the bar. To meet this new challenge, our accreditation manager worked hard to receive CALEA reaccreditation and began to transition to obtain tier three State Accreditation, a higher level. This is a challenge for the department with our limited resources and staffing.
The demands on police are ever changing and growing. My staff works hard to keep up with applicable laws and demands of modern-day policing. However, in my experience, and vital to policing, is fostering community connections. Officer N. Abalan and Sergeant Kreimes spearheaded the second First Responder Camp in August, where local teens had an opportunity to participate in and hear about police, fire, ambulance team scenarios, drills and exercises. Additionally, Life Star landed at Salmon Brook Park where the group could ask questions, sit in the helicopter and explore. The camp provides a glimpse into future career opportunities, and places names and faces of police staff with younger Granby citizens.
Another central community connection was initiated while conducting local food drives in partnership withlocal businesses. Last Thanksgiving, Christmas and this past spring, police staff were at local supermarkets collecting food and non-perishable items for the local food pantry.
I can tell you that the transition from an urban to small town police department caused a shift in the first few weeks but with the amazing staff I am fortunate to work with, we have hit the ground running together. This holiday season be on the lookout for GPD staff collecting for a food drive at a local supermarket and please say hello.
Submitted by the Chief’s office.