Making Complaints & Commendations

The Bloomfield Police Department is committed to providing high-quality police services to the community. In order to be responsive to community needs, it is necessary to have citizen input. Your constructive comments about our service, good or bad, will help us to improve and to achieve our goals.

Commending Exceptional Performance

The best way to commend the actions of a Police employee is to write a brief letter or email describing the incident and the actions you think were exceptional. Information such as the date, time, and location will help identify the employee if you don't know his or her name. If you choose not to write, you may ask to speak with the employee's supervisor and make a verbal commendation.

Commendations are usually placed in the employee's personnel file and posted on the department bulletin board to be read by all employees. Although our employees don't expect to be thanked for everything they do, recognition of exceptional service is always appreciated. This kind of feedback helps us to know if we're doing a good job.

Making a Complaint

A complaint can be made by letter, email, telephone or in person. The Professional Standards Division Commander oversees the Internal Affairs function of the police department and can be reached Monday through Friday, 8 am - 4 pm at 860-242-6060, ext. 5231or by email. If you wish to speak with a supervisor immediately, or the IA Commander is unavailable, do not hesitate to ask for any Supervisor on duty.

It has been our experience that many complaints involve a misunderstanding of police policy or procedure and are often resolved by speaking with supervisory personnel. While we encourage you to try this avenue, we understand that some complaints do require a full inquiry. During this process, you will be kept informed of the progress of the inquiry and may be asked for additional information; you will also be advised when the investigation is completed.

While contacting the Chief or Captain may seem like the best and quickest way to remedy a concern, you are discouraged from doing so. The reality is, the system we have in place is highly efficient, and you can be assured that the Chief or Captain become actively involved in internal reviews and recommendations.