Western Connecticut Planning Region
640,482 people, served by 18 police agencies that report to the FBI. Below: how a case moves here, from arrest to court.
How a case moves here
Western Connecticut Planning Region follows Connecticut law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.
- Who decides release first
The police decide first. A police chief or designee must interview the arrested person and release them on a written promise or a bond the officer sets. If the person can't post it, a Judicial Branch bail commissioner or intake specialist sets conditions. Police can't release on a promise or unsecured bond in a family violence crime involving a firearm.
C.G.S. 54-63c and 54-63d- Time to see a judge
A person arrested and not released must be presented promptly at the next regular sitting of the Superior Court where the offense happened. The law sets no hour limit. The U.S. Supreme Court's 48-hour rule for a probable cause finding applies as the federal floor.
C.G.S. 54-1g- Money bail
Money bail is allowed. Since 2017, when the only charges are misdemeanors, a court may not set money bail unless the charge is family violence, the person asks for it, or the court finds a likely risk they will not appear or will obstruct justice.
C.G.S. 54-64a(a)(2)- Courts
Connecticut has one trial court, the Superior Court. Geographical area courthouses hear arraignments and all but the most serious criminal cases, and judicial district courthouses hear the most serious felonies. Probate courts don't hear crimes.
Connecticut Judicial Branch, Divisions of Superior Court- Judges and magistrates
The governor nominates judges from a list the Judicial Selection Commission approves, and the General Assembly appoints them for eight-year terms.
Connecticut State Register and Manual, Judicial Department
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Police set a bond amount themselves; the statute text read does not show a statewide money schedule, so schedule_release means police money bail, not a court schedule. Bail commissioner qualifications were not found.
What this county does differently
Nothing county-specific yet
Police agencies
- Stamford Police DepartmentStamford city140,066 served
- Norwalk Police DepartmentNorwalk city94,366 served
- Danbury Police DepartmentDanbury city89,355 served
- Greenwich Police DepartmentGreenwich town64,915 served
- New Milford Police DepartmentCity28,939 served
- Newtown Police DepartmentCity28,283 served
- Westport Police DepartmentWestport town28,233 served
- Ridgefield Police DepartmentRidgefield town25,387 served
- Darien Police DepartmentCity22,807 served
- Bethel Police DepartmentCity21,793 served
- New Canaan Police DepartmentNew Canaan town21,319 served
- Wilton Police DepartmentWilton town19,475 served
- Brookfield Police DepartmentBrookfield town18,370 served
- Weston Police DepartmentWeston town10,533 served
- Redding Police DepartmentRedding town8,855 served
- CT001SP00State police
- Metropolitan Transportation AuthorityOther
- Western Connecticut State UniversityUniversity or College
Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.
Crime and arrests
No figures yet