Yale Daily News
The New Haven Police Department’s Assistant Chief of Police Achilles “Archie” Generoso will retire imminently, leaving large shoes to fill.
Generoso, who began working for the NHPD in 1975, formally announced his retirement from the department on Jan. 9. He will leave the department on Feb. 3, according to the New Haven Independent. During his tenure, Generoso left the department in 1995, but returned in 2011 and was appointed the assistant chief of the detectives division in March 2012. NHPD Police Chief Anthony Campbell ’95 DIV ’09 will name Generoso’s replacement, but his choice to fill the imminent vacancy has yet to be made.
“Chief Generoso has been a pillar of steadfast support for the New Haven Police Department — his advocacy for community-based policing and his command of the Investigative Services Unit has been exemplary,” Mayor Toni Harp said in an email to the News.
Harp added that Generoso’s retirement will leave a “void” difficult to fill within the NHPD’s command staff, but that the department has a “deep pool of talent” from which to choose in its efforts to replace him.
In an interview with the New Haven Independent, Campbell said that after news of Generoso’s retirement reached the officers’ ears, “People were crying.” Campbell added that the Elm City’s sustained drop in crime reflects Generoso’s hard work.
In fact, Generoso’s leadership at the NHPD has correlated with a significant decline in the city’s crime rate.
Mark Abraham ’04, executive director of data analysis nonprofit DataHaven, said that although crime rates increased significantly for a period around 2010, serious crime began decreasing further after 2012, falling to levels probably not seen since the 1970s. Particularly, the number of shootings has decreased significantly from 2012 to now, with 2017 seeing only seven homicides — the city’s lowest total in half a century.
New Haven burglaries have also fallen from 1,401 in 2011 to 862 in 2015, according to the New Haven Register.
In current longitudinal surveys, adults in New Haven have reported feeling safer in their neighborhoods than they have in surveys taken in previous years, Abraham said.
Rick Fontana, deputy director of New Haven Emergency Operations who collaborates with police detectives, said he works closely with Generoso’s lieutenants and has worked directly with Generoso on many occasions. Generoso has developed a team of investigators over his six-year tenure as assistant chief and as their leader has done an “unbelievable” job in keeping New Haven safe, Fontana said.
In addition to his ability to lead a team of investigators in efficiently bringing closure to violent crime cases, Fontana added, Generoso’s passion for investigative work has left the Elm City indebted to him and his tireless work.
The New Haven Police Department is located at 1 Union Ave.
Christina Carrafiell | christina.carrafiell@yale.edu