NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A task force has been formed to replace the recently dismantled narcotics unit of the New Haven Police Department.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and Police Chief Francisco Ortiz announced that the task force will be a partnership between the city's police force and state police. The two agencies will collaborate and share responsibility for narcotics enforcement.

The task force is set to go into effect Wednesday, according to officials.

The partnership between the city's police and state police will replace the narcotics unit that was broken up after the federal arrests of Lt. William White and Detective Justen Kasperzyk. The narcotics officers were charged last month with stealing funds that should have been confiscated during drug raids.

"Narcotics enforcement is key to achieving safe neighborhoods," DeStefano said. "This partnership is patterned upon past successes, and I look forward to continued declines in our crime rates."

Officials said that despite the March dismantling of the city's narcotics unit, narcotic arrests have gone uninterrupted.

"A significant amount of narcotics-related arrests are done at the patrol level," said Assistant Police Chief Herman Badger. "That is something that has been continuous and something that we will keep up."

State police have a similar partnership with the Hartford Police Department in the violence task force.

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