MILAN, NM – April’s Coffee with a Cop included updates regarding recent cases that the Milan Police Department has been working on, the issue being short-staffed, and working on finding more uncertified and certified officers as well as to fill the open position in Code Enforcement.
Chief Carl Ustupski announced an opening in the Code Enforcement position at the Milan Police Department. The village is looking for an individual to fill the position, Ustupski said the village has not seen much interest from potential candidates and due to this, they are looking for various ways to possibly incentivize individuals to apply. One of the things that he spoke about was that they are thinking of combining the Code Enforcement position with a certified officer position and they are hoping they will get more interest due to the hours of the position and the pay for a certified officer. They have also been working on finding different routes to gauge interest in the positions of officers in the department, currently the department is down one officer. Ustupski said that due to lack of interest in the immediate area the department has put a job opening on websites to try to interest individuals outside of the vicinity. He said that they have gotten quite a lot of interest with 15 applying, but he is very strict when it comes to hiring officers and is hesitant to hire anyone with past arrests or disciplinary infractions.
Ustupski said they have been working hard to solve the recent burglaries and robberies that have been occurring in the Village. He said that seven individuals have been identified and it is typically the same individuals that have been causing issues. Ustupski spoke about one individual that they arrested that stole a grandfather clock, who was using an electric wagon and was using backroads to get around. Due to this the department is looking to possibly use some of the money through the Protection Fund to get a four-wheeler to access some areas that are harder to access on foot or with a police squad car or truck. With the village receiving funds for new playground equipment at Kearn’s Park, Ustupski said that there is a concern that it might entice more individuals to the area and also lead to graffiti. They also said that it would be a good idea to possibly place signs to show when the park closes.
Former Village Trustee Vivian Brumbelow who was present at the meeting asked officers about the Storage Facility and if they have seen a lot of break in’s occurring in the area. Ustupski said that they have not seen a lot of activity recently. The Dollar General was recently broken into again and Ustupski said that overall, Dollar General is a pretty easy target due to the selfcheckout at the store, shoplifting has also been a major issue at the store as well. John Brooks has also been the victim of shoplifting, as well as Love’s. Due to the increase in break in’s and shoplifting Ustupski has recommended to business owners to install cameras and glass break detectors. MPD has also been working on the parking situation at Love’s and Petro, and recently they have not been receiving as many complaints.
MPD has still not received their new squad vehicles, and they were supposed to receive them in Mid-April, Ustupski said that it is due to it taking a while to order equipment. They are also still having issues with radios, and they are wanting to install a repeater in one of their units. If the repeater works it will only cost MPD $4,000 to $8,000 to fix the issue. If the repeater does not work, they will possibly need to build a new tower which would cost $47,000. Ustupski said it would be nice if they can fix it with the repeater so they can use the extra money elsewhere.
The issue of being short-staffed has also caused another issue for MPD which is that they have been unable to use any of the grant money they have received for warrant roundups, DWI checkpoints, etc. Ustupski said, “There’s seven of us, [Officer Cameron Elkins] can’t work it because he’s not certified so that leaves six of us. [Lieutenant Barbara Kohn] and I still can’t work it because we’re salaried… So, that eliminates us and so we have four, but to ask these guys to work extra hours when they are putting in so much… We’re going to lose that money.”
Coffee With a Cop takes place on the first Wednesday of each month at 11 a.m. at the Village of Milan Hall.