WILTON — Police Chief Heidi Wilcox thanked the Police Advisory Committee in her quarterly report to the Board of Selectpersons this week.
“The Committee worked for several months to resolve a dangerous intersection at Munson Road and Route 2 at the Big Apple,” she said. Members reviewed statistics on the numerous collisions in that area and met with an engineer from the Maine Department of Transportation, she said.
With a cost-effective solution of using paint, a change in the traffic pattern was made and has had a clear impact in helping to reduce the number of accidents there, she said.
Wilcox told the board she hopes to use funds available through a Byrne/Jag federal grant to upgrade the department’s Tasers. The ones used now will no longer be serviced by the manufacturer and parts are no longer available, she said.
The department is also looking at upgrading firearms. Some of the guns were purchased in 1999, she said. The night sights are no longer effective and would cost $100 to replace. Some basic research shows the guns could be exchanged for a newer model at a cost of $200, she said. No decision has been made.
Selectperson Tom Saviello asked Wilcox about the use of cop view cameras similar to what President Barack Obama is seeking for all officers.
Wilcox said the department has two and find them helpful, especially with domestic violence calls.
“They record what we see, not just what we write or interpret in our reports,” she said.
The cameras cost about $850 each, she said.
Over the past three months, the department responded to 1,444 calls for service and made 58 criminal arrests and summons. There were 25 motor vehicle collisions reported and 249 motor vehicle stops made, she said.
abryant@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
