Crime Prevention and Safety Awareness

The State Capitol Police Department is committed to community outreach programs directed toward the legislative community in an effort to promote awareness and enhance personal safety and well being, both in the Capitol complex and in the world beyond.  Educating the legislative community about safety and security issues is of prime concern to the department.  During the 2011 calendar year, the State Capitol Police Department presented eleven programs to the legislative community.  Examples of these and other programs for 2012 include:

•An “Emergency Procedures and Active Threat” training program provided to legislators and legislative employees.  This program provides information on making quick, purposeful decisions in the event of a critical incident or intruder alert.

•An annual “Intruder Alert” exercise that simulates an active armed intruder situation and tests the legislative community’s response to the situation.

• A “Personal Safety” training program provided to female legislators and female legislative employees.  This program provides necessary information to practice safe behaviors on and off the Capitol complex by incorporating safety and security practices into daily routines.

• A mandatory “Workplace Violence” training program for legislators and legislative employees to assist them in identifying, preventing and handling workplace violence.

•An “Identity Theft” awareness and prevention program available to legislators and legislative employees to help keep them from becoming victims of identity theft.

•An “Internet Safety” training program available to all legislators and legislative employees.  This comprehensive program is designed to heighten awareness on protecting yourself and your family from internet and technology crimes.

• A program for reporting “Suspicious Activity” accessible to the legislative community on the intranet at http://cgalites/cop/  or publicly on the State Capitol Police internet website at http://www.cga.ct.gov/cop/.  The program can be utilized to report non-active suspicious activity in an open or anonymous way.  Active suspicious activity should always be reported immediately to the State Capitol Police by telephoning 860-240-0240.

•An “Advisory Alert” program utilizing e-mail to send out advisories to the legislative community concerning severe weather, traffic disruption, police and emergency services activity around the complex, and critical incidents.

•An “E-Mail Scam Alert” program which provides timely alerts and information to the legislative community about active email and phishing scams to prevent becoming a victim.

•An “Escort” program which provides safety and security escorts by uniformed State Capitol Police personnel to the garages and parking areas for any member of the legislative community requesting them.  These escorts can be requested by contact with any State Capitol Police officer or Security Technician or by contacting the State Capitol Police Operations Center at 860-240-0240.

•An “Emergency Warden” program that trains legislative employees to assist in implementing emergency procedures and building evacuations during an emergency situation.

•An “Overnight Parking” program that allows legislators and legislative employees to utilize the legislative garages for overnight parking.  This program can be utilized by contacting the State Capitol Police Operations Center and providing information on the make, model, color, and license plate of the vehicle and where it will be parked.  By making this notification, you can avoid being subject to parking enforcement action.

•A “Bicycle Safety” program presented to children within the community.  This program is presented by uniformed members of the State Capitol Police Bicycle Patrol Unit.

•A “Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED)” training program available to all legislators and legislative employees to provide them with the skills to deal with cardiac situations.

•A “Basic First Aid” training program available to all legislators and legislative employees to provide them with the skills to deal with basic first aid situations.

Additionally, the State Capitol Police Department maintains and operates “Emergency Call Boxes” which are located throughout the Capitol complex garages and parking areas.  These call boxes can be utilized by the community in emergency or critical situations to directly communicate with the State Capitol Police Operations Center to summon immediate assistance.  The department has completed a program of heightening the visibility and awareness of these emergency call boxes and fire alarm stations by installing them with highly visible colored lights.   Blue lights point to emergency call boxes and red lights point to fire alarm stations.

If you have any questions or comments concerning these programs, please contact Sergeant Keith Zengel at 860-240-5218 or by e-mail at keith.zengel@cga.ct.gov.   Sergeant Zengel also conducts a community service open forum meeting for the legislative community on a quarterly basis. The meeting is open to all to address any concerns that have a bearing on law enforcement, safety and security within the Capitol complex and The Old State House.  These meetings work to enhance communication between the State Capitol Police and the legislative community.  Any concerns or problems that are voiced during this forum will be addressed.  Notifications of the date, time, and location of these meetings will be sent out by e-mail.

Individual awareness, cooperation, and involvement are critical to the success of any safety and security program. Everyone should assume responsibility for their own personal safety and the safety of others by attending these and similar programs, keeping informed about security risks, and exercising safety-conscious behavior.