Security On Fairfield Hills Improving With Trained Guards

By John Voket

Gone are the days when private state contracted security guards patrolled the Fairfield Hills campus in vehicles costing taxpayers $1,800 a month, while vandals, thrill seekers, and “urban explorers” plied the grounds, buildings, and subterranean tunnels beneath. Since taking ownership of the property last summer, new signs and barricades, stepped up local police presence, and a contingent of newly certified private guards from Cognisa Security have all but eliminated illegal intrusions.

The ad-hoc Fairfield Hills Management Committee heard about these and other administrative issues during its most recent meeting, November 16.

Richard Sturdevant, an ad-hoc committee member and the committee’s liaison on security issues, issued a report that made note of a historic milestone on the campus. While thousands of trick-or-treaters were working their way up and down Main Street, the sprawling Fairfield Hills grounds were deserted.

Newtown Police Captain Joe Rios reported that there were no trespassing incidents on the campus the entire Halloween weekend. Mr Sturdevant said that besides aggressive police and security patrols and barricaded vehicular entrances, temporary lighting equipment erected along the rear expanse of the property apparently warded off any attempts to explore the former state hospital facilities.

It was also revealed by property manager Maria DeMarco of DeMarco, Miles and Murphy, Hartford, that the private security guards who work at Fairfield Hills are the first in the entire state to be certified under a new statute that took effect October 1.

“A new state certification process mandates eight hours of training before private security guards can reregister to work in Connecticut,” Ms DeMarco told The Bee. “They are required to prove they are familiar with issues including public safety, first aid, basic principles of criminal justice, and search an seizure practices.”

She said Cognisa was the first company in Connecticut to begin completing the upgraded certification procedures, and she was pleased to learn that the first newly certified Cognisa guards were assigned to her project at Fairfield Hills.

Mr Sturdevant indicated in his report that the positions of an overall security supervisor, as well as shift supervisors, were close to being implemented. He confirmed that all security personnel were now operating retired municipal four-wheel-drive vehicles that were slated for decommissioning by the town prior to Ms DeMarco suggesting they be recycled for campus duty.

Until recently, the contract with Atlanta, Ga.-based Cognisa Security called for guards to operate company vehicles that cost taxpayers $900 per month plus $900 in a fixed fuel allocation. But since the guards are now using town-owned vehicles and town fuel that is purchased tax-free, the collateral costs for private security have been reduced substantially, she said.

All private guards, as well as DeMarco, Miles and Murphy’s management agents, are equipped with town radios so they can quickly communicate with local officials and police responders if and when they are required to do so. Mr Sturdevant mentioned that all private guards are required to check every exterior door of every building on the campus each shift, to further ensure those buildings remain free of trespassers.

Apparently, information and rumors that had circulated far and wide, including numerous websites and Internet chat rooms, promoting the ease of access to Fairfield Hills facilities have begun to fade. Newtown First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and ad-hoc committee chairman John Reed have repeatedly asserted their wishes that any trespassers be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

And since the town took over the facility, dozens of arrests for trespassing and related issues have been initiated, predominantly against individuals from communities other than Newtown. The officials have also reiterated that the network of tunnels beneath the campus have been permanently sealed, thwarting trespassers who previously navigated among the many connected buildings without ever being detected by guards conducting routine patrols on the grounds.

To further educate the public on access and permitted use of the Fairfield Hills grounds, which remain a popular daytime destination for bicyclists, hikers, and dog walkers, Mr Sturdevant plans to install additional signage at the main entrance and pedestrian access points in the coming weeks. His security committee is looking to better communicate specific use conditions for the upcoming winter months.

This will be the first winter in nearly ten years that snowmobile and all terrain vehicle use will be prohibited on the campus fields and trails. The town recently implemented an ordinance restricting the use of off-road motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles on town-owned property, and the Fairfield Hills property now falls under that provision.

Ms DeMarco reported that the first phase of work to prepare a former engineer’s residence for use by security and management personnel was complete. The building, which sits beside the main entrance at Trades Lane and Wasserman Way, was formerly overgrown with blighted trees and shrubbery that provided privacy to its former residents.

But Ms DeMarco, in cooperation with the town tree warden, had most of the overgrowth cleared. She said that opening up the building created more of a visual deterrent to potential trespassers, and that guards will now have visual sight lines from its second floor windows to other vehicular entrances and areas of the property.

Once improvements are completed, including the installation of a new boiler and a new roof, Ms DeMarco fully expects the guards and management to occupy their newly converted offices in that building by year’s end.