The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-10-14

regard to the Set-up or WaterpuryS accident prevention bureau, Super intendent of Police William J. Roach has prepared @ complete his- tory of the bureau from the time of Its organization to date.
 Several newspapers in other parts of the country, and several munic- ipal governments have corresponded with the local department, seeking information on the bureau.
 Superintendent Roach's informa- ton on the subject Is as follows:
 Waterbury, the Brass Center of the World, is the pivotal city of the Naugatuck Valley, and also is the gateway to the Litchfield and Berk- shire Hills. Waterbury, like Rome In Italy, Is built on seven hills The city is situated In the bottom of Q figurative saucer, having no parallel streets to divert or reroute traffic from the center of the city.
 Metropolitan Area
 Waterbury now has on estimated population of 106,700 and, in addi- ton, Is the center of Q large popu- lation of 1o5,70 and, in addition, Is the center of & large population area which embraces over 600,0O0 within o radius of 26 miles. Water bury covers over % square miles and has approximately 200 miles of streets. The main traffic route from Central New York State. to Rhode Island and the East, passes directly through the center of the city.
 The steadily increasing death rate by motor vehicles from 1883 to 1886, coupled with a similar increase in property damage accidents, caused the rates of automobile insurance to reach an exorbitant figure. This prompted intelligent-minded citi- zens to decide that something dras- tic should be done to correct this situation.
 The first step was taken by Hon. orable T. Frank Hayes, Mayor, in organizing the Waterbury Citizens Permanent Traffic Safety Commit tee. This outstanding group of men and women instituted Traffic Sur- vey under the sponsorship of the city and W.P.A. The recommenda- tons derived from the survey were closely and strictly followed. The recommendation which received itn- mediate consideration was that Lieutenant Kreml be brought to Waterbury with his successful rec cording and Investigating system
 Permanent Committee
 The Permanent Safety Committee meets regularly once each month"; Its cross section personnel follows: Commissioner of Fire and Police. Superintendent and Deputy Super intendent of Police, City Engineer Captain of Accident Squad, Super intendent of Schools, School Prin- cipal, Representative of Public Util- ities, Clergy, Bar Association, Man. ufacturers, Merchants, Local Motor Vehicle Department, Insurance Companies and Chamber of Com- merce.
 The first move of the Police De- partment for the betterment of con ditions was the sending of three men to the New England Officers Train ing School at Harvard where, under the expert tutelage of the country's foremost Safety Engineers, the foundation was laid for Lieutenant Kreml's work in Waterbury. On the return of these men from Har- yard, two were assigned to the newly established Accident Squad and Accident Prevention Bureau the third to street traffic.
 A police school under the direc- ton of Lieutenant Kreml was started. The men assigned to the school were those who were finally selected after a series of examina- tions. This group of men passed an intensive two-weekS course in acci- dent investigation work and be- came well prepared to handle any situation that might arise. In con- junction with this group, the Bureau was set up with location files, dr1v- CTS files, spot-map and other neces- sary equipment for effective opera tion.
 Roster
 The roster of the Bureau and Squad today consists of twenty-one men, including two sergeantS who have complete charge of Investiga- ton work; a Captain, who has Jur- isdiction over all squad cars; and a clerk who handles the records. The remaining IT are the militant group upon whose shoulders the burden of Investigating and enforcement lies. .s ,'t tt
 We have installed radio equip- ment. Fifteen cars are equipped; 1; three, with two-way system; twelve with only receiving sets. The spe- clfic program followed out is: all