The Norwich Police Department has a sweet way to improve community outreach.
As part of the last distribution of funds from the Sachem Fund, as it has run out of money, Norwich Police received $8,900 to be used for an ice cream truck that will appear at playgrounds and family events across Norwich.
The Norwich Police will collect ice cream donations to stock the truck. Officers will run the truck and give the ice cream to children for free. The purpose is to build a positive relationship between the youth and the police, Chief Patrick Daley said.
“It’s non-confrontational,” he said. “It’s just a good thing to see police officers doing good work.”
Other police departments across the country have used this idea before, including in Boston, Daley said.
The Norwich Police Department has other programs to reach the youth, with Night Flight Basketball, mentorships with Norwich Free Academy students, and the Department’s own youth athletics.
“The more positive interactions children have with police officers, the more likely they’ll want to be a police officer someday, which helps us, or be good citizens,” he said.
The truck will be seen during school field days, back-to-school events, and at city playgrounds, Daley said.
The Sachem Fund
The Sachem Fund itself was started in 2007 during the administration of Mayor Ben Lathrop. In the beginning, $200,000 was contributed annually by Norwich and another $200,000 was contributed annually for five years by The Mohegan Tribe. The money was to be used cultural events and dealing with blighted buildings.
Over the years, the contributions shrank. The last contribution was $25,000 last year from the City of Norwich, Nystrom said.
The Sachem Fund has been important for Norwich because it funded quality-of-life community events, “the small things that make Norwich what it is,” without directly spending taxpayer dollars, President Pro-Tempore Joe DeLucia said.
“This is how we are smart with your money,” he said.
The last distribution of Sachem Fund monies approved by the City Council on Monday also gives $28,000 to the Norwich Events Organization, $6,100 for Norwich Planning and Neighborhood Services for the NorWitch Halloween Strut, and $14,228.44 with interest to the Greeneville Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, to help celebrate the neighborhood’s history alongside America 250 events.
As a cost saving measure, this year’s Fourth of July Fireworks, which the Norwich Events Organization runs, will be fired from land instead of a barge, saving $17,000, Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom said.
