New Canaan Police Department’s command staff of Capt. John DiFederico, left, Police Chief Leon Krolikowski and Capt. Vincent DeMaio.
“It should be the department of the year,” Police Chief Leon Krolikowski first said when told the Advertiser staff named him the 2014 New Canaan Person of the Year. “We can’t do anything without the men and women behind me. It’s been a group effort.”
That group effort has helped turn the New Canaan Police Department into a proactive agency that can’t go unnoticed.
“He’s exceeded my expectations,” said Jim Cole, who was chairman the Police Commission that hired Krolikowski. “I am very pleased with what I see him doing. He learned very well what it takes to be an effective police chief in the public eye.”
Since he was first named interim police chief in June 2013, and then the official chief that September, Krolikowski has led a change in the department that has included a major crackdown on distracted driving, the use of technology to communicate with the town, a student resource officer at the middle school, a program that rewards the good people in town, regular appearances at community events, and much more.
Grayson Cordes, left, shakes hands with police Chief Leon Krolikowski as he receives the Civilian Service Award Wednesday evening, Sept. 17. (Aaron Marsh photo)
A New Canaan resident for more than two decades, Krolikowski and his wife, Anna, who owns the Baskin-Robbins on Main Street, have three children: daughter Morgan, 18, attends Boston College, daughter Kelsey, 16, is at the high school, and son Ryan, 13, is at Saxe Middle School.
The chief called his family members and the families of all officers “the unsung heroes of our department… that endure the many challenges that policing presents. My family is no exception to this in that my wife knows how critical it is to serve our community. She started her service as an EMT with NCVAC — which is how we met — continued her service as a town business owner and now serves the town, albeit indirectly, by giving me unwavering support each and every day.”
New Canaan Police Officer Rex Sprosta, left, shakes the hand of police Chief Leon Krolikowski as he receives the unit citation award on Monday, July 21. (Aaron Marsh photo)
Krolikowski has now been on the New Canaan Police force for more than a quarter century, moving up through the ranks. And his time in town could be what’s helped him make so many changes so quickly.
“Leon is doing a fantastic job,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi III said. “He came in with so many good ideas. He was on the bench for so long, he really observed what we could do differently. I give him credit — he really wanted that position, and when he got it he was ready to run on Day 1.”
Dr. Eric Collins, left, physician-in-chief at Silver Hill Hospital, demonstrates the administration of naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose for New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. (Aaron Marsh photo)
Krolikowski said that he has had career goals to move up through the ranks. “I like to be challenged,” he said. “And I’ve seen some things occur that I didn’t like and I wanted to change… I think sometimes you get a person in the inside and they are a little insular and protect things that they shouldn’t.”
But he said he’s not like that, and has wanted to modernize the department for some time. For example the department’s scheduling and overtime system is now computerized.
“That doesn’t seem like much — but that is easily accessible data that we haven’t had before.”
Speaking of scheduling, the NCPD is now working in squads — which just started Jan. 1. “Now everyone works with the same lieutenant and sergeant,” he said. “We’re hoping that promotes more consistency, more accountability and more teamwork. That was an idea from some of our supervisors.”
Like Krolikowski himself, Mallozzi noted the leadership team the chief has backing him up. “There’s another factor there too,” said the first selectman. “He’s got two wonderful captains. I think the jobs John DiFederico and Vincent DeMaio are doing are really important. I know you can’t be successful unless you have good lieutenants. They work as a team. I see that more now than I have seen in our police department in many, many years. I think it’s important to give Leon credit and give those guys credit. That has to help. It can’t hurt.”
Officers Brian Micena, left, and Michael O’Sullivan receive Medical Service Awards from Capts. John DiFederico and Vincent DeMaio and Chief Leon Krolikowski. (Aaron Marsh photo)
Stats
The NCPD wants to apply business concepts to how it functions, Krolikowski said. Officers have started using statistics to produce results. “We have discovered hot spot locations where accidents have happened in town more than others, and the conditions that caused those accidents.”
For example, one of the trouble spots in town is Cherry Street, where the primary contributor to accidents are “following too close” and “failure to obey traffic signals.” On Ponus Ridge, accidents’ primary cause are people crossing the middle of the road and running stop signs. The other major roads for accidents in town are: Bank Street, Carter Street, New Norwalk Road, Oenoke Ridge, Old Norwalk Road, Old Stamford Road, Park Street, Smith Ridge, South Avenue and Weed Street.
Police will use this data to hopefully reduce accidents in town in 2015.
Another focus for 2015 is drugs.
“We are seeing a pretty big increase in the use and possession of marijuana, which is pretty concerning when you see it in vehicles and with it while operating vehicles,” Krolikowski said, noting that pot now just gets you a ticket if you have a small amount. “Another big one is alcohol — which most people don’t think of as a drug, but is. It’s especially concerning when we see younger people using alcohol and drugs.”
He said that a lot of underage parties the police break up includes teens using alcohol and pot. “Younger people are not able to absorb those substances and make the right decisions,” he said.
This past year, the police have also made some crack-cocaine and heroin arrests, and people selling marijuana in large quantities.
“We want to make it harder for people to get drugs in our town,” he said. “Right now it’s not that hard.”
NCPD Chief Leon Krolikowski, right, and Capt. John DiFederico hand Walgreens employee Terry Darden the Civilian Service Award. (Aaron Marsh photo)
Big case
The first big case after Krolikowski took over the department was the brazen afternoon smash-and-grab jewelry robbery on Elm Street. The police were able to gather evidence at the scene that helped lead to a big arrest — with the help of the FBI — of a major gang that was committing crimes throughout the region.
That crime also helped prompt the police to increase their presence in the village shopping area. Officer Roy Adams was named the Community Impact Officer and be regularly seen in town talking with merchants and residents. In the past year, the complaints about crime among merchants has gone down, the chief said.
“We got a lot of positive feedback on that,” Krolikowski said. “A few weeks after the jewelry story robbery, we held an information session for merchants; we held it again this year around the same time. It was more sparsely attended this year — because I think they feel safer again. Officer Adams has been a huge success.”
His biggest challenge since taking over the NCPD has been making changes. “I have a pretty solid outline of what changes I want to make,” he said. “It has been interesting to see how people react to change. Some people, no matter how long they have been in an organization, get used to things a certain way — but then you change them… That has been a challenge.”
Police Chief Leon Krolikowki, middle, and Capt. John DiFederico, second from right, speak with residents like George McEvoy, left, Bill Walbert and Tucker Murphy at the “Pizza with the Chief” event Tuesday, Oct. 14. (Aaron Marsh photo)
A positive change has been public recognition ceremonies for officers who went above and beyond, and for residents and merchants who helped the police stop crimes. “I want the positive to be publicized more than the negative,” he said.
At 46, Krolikowski has accomplished a lot. “Police chiefs don’t last forever,” Cole, the former police commissioner said. “Leon is still a young man — he has a great career ahead of him. He’ll be a really great police chief as long as he wants to stay. There is a half life to these things. I just hope we can keep him as long as we can. He’ll be absolutely great.”
When asked where he sees himself in 10 years, Krolikowski — after some thought — said: “Continuing to lead an exceptional police department whose members are our greatest assets. A department that has accomplished many objectives towards the goal of creating a largely crime-free community but continues to evolve and take calculated risks to enable great outcomes.”
New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski stands in front of the department’s new Humvee, parked on a stump in Waveny Park. (Aaron Marsh photo)