MrRoboto

Consolidation.............................

My guess is it's all the negativity that goes on here, as a matter of fact my gut tells me to shut up and not even post this. Seems that no matter what is said here someone puts a spin on it that its wrong or a waste of time or money or should be done differently, it's just not worth all the negativity to start a conversation here and for that I feel bad, I always enjoyed this site and still check it several times a day just to find out there is nothing new. That's just my two cents, but I'm sure someone will say I'm wrong.

A lot of people have been banned from here, or left on their own, for whatever reasons. That's part of it.
Message boards in general are "old hat" nowadays, with many people choosing Facebook or other forms of social media to share their thoughts, opinions and photos. I am a member of numerous boards, covering various topics, and very few of them are as active as they used to be.

Departments sharing resources? Crazy idea.

That could never happen here.............Paging for any available driver.....paging for additional manpower for the automatic alarm....

Its actually the other way around. NYS mandates Counties to maintain a Sheriff's Office which Westchester does through the Police Department. Cities are also required to maintain Police. Town's and Villages are not.

I think ESU cops know what ESU cops need and there for we'll defer to them to decide what vehicle fits them best.
After that....we went off the rails. I think this has run it's course.

Bad Box are you a cop? I don't think you are aware of what ESU cops do. They are not patrol cops. They are highly trained cops who can respond to EVERYTHING! As in every major scale emergency. From EDP who is out of control to a jumper hangin from the tallest structure. Bomb scares, hazmat jobs active shooter, terrorist attacks and hostages. The list goes on. They are trained for it all and have the tools to get everyone one of those jobs done. Yes 2 cops ride in that large rig but that rig is met by the smaller ESU trucks and suddenly 6-8 cops are on scene in minutes with a large tool box. If a large scale incident happens this truck will allow extra guys to jump in and gear up. Your post insults law enforcement especially ESU cops who go through one hell of a test to get in that unit and have to be sharp in many aspects of aw enforcement. When a cop is in trouble who do we call? ESU. Who comes after them? No one. There is no one after ESU.

Same reason I wouldn't want to call County Tech Rescue Team. Nice trucks for a parade can't get out the door when volunteers are coming from all directions in the county. My first call is NR, YO, WP. (In no particular order) for jobs a small town can't handle. County MERV or METU whatever it is, is no different. Not volly bashing and I'm no career guy either but how long are you going to wait? Look no more then a Rye incident a few months back. Not Monday morning QB, just based on time reaponse posted and listening. You can't depend on people having to come from 15-20 min assemble a crew and then respond 20min away. That's 40-45 min. Maybe the MERV will stil be needed that long into operation. Most likely but just insane.

Neither one is a MERV. They are both METU's (Medical Evacuation Transport Unit)
The same UASI grant was used to purchase both.

The following link is to the WCPD PBA's response to the decision www.pbawcpd.org
The following is a link to the Town of Ossining and the questions raised of the village's proposal http://www.townofossining.com/j25/news/375-press-release-regarding-provision-of-police-services-now-available-online
There are some very valid points raised and it will be interesting to see if the Village is able to meet them.

Absent a system that provides for a common response it makes a lot of sense and is far more proactive than most places that don't do that until they're in way over their heads. Kudos to you for dealing with it!
When are we going to standardize the training for FF in NYS, though? Wouldn't it be nice if everyone called "firefighter" had the same credentials and qualifications????

And where would this equipment and personnel be better used? Is there something wrong with trying upgrade equipment? Every department tries to take advantage of grants, I am sure yours as well. I believe rumors of a new truck and boat for your department from the Tappan Zee Bridge project are floating about. This is not a waste of tax dollars? WIth this new truck, will you have to build another new firehouse to house it?

They really aren't "toys". Yes, it may seem like (PD-wise) there is a lot of equipment, but if something big goes down those 'toys" will be saving lives. And WCPD had much of this equipment WAY before any of the local jurisdictions even considered obtaining their own. They were the first and only department in the area to have things such as a riot control unit, DWI Enforcement and prevention, and one of the first and only "Jaws Of Life" in Westchester County. Post-9/11 grants made it possible for many cities and municipalities to obtain their own equipment when it previously would have been financially impossible, and County PD used it to build and improve on what they already had.
As far as municipalities that have a lot of specialized equipment and units, Greenburgh has a lot of their own.
WCPD and their SOD not only supports and trains with the "big cities", but nearly all jurisdictions in the county. They cover both primary jurisdictions (Westchester County facilities like Playland, all County Parks, the County Office building, the County Center, the Medical Center/Grassland Campus, Westchester Community College, and HPN Westchester County Airport. They also cover busy contracted highways, and are the primary PD's for the Town Of Ossining, Cortlandt, and Village of Mount Kisco). They also work protective details at many high profile events in Westchester, and maintain security of the massive infrastructure in the county.
And, it doesn't matter whether it's a "big city" or not. Incidents as like Newtown and Eastchester PD Officer Michael Frey are a tragic example of something that could happen anywhere. The Eastchester incident made aware the need for specialized equipment and training in Westchester.
There have been many stories over the past few years where WCPD resources have been credited with saving lives and apprehending suspects, as well as preventing and interrupting criminal acts. Many local jurisdictions depend on WCPD's specialized shared services every day, and all county citizens and visitors benefit from it.
Take a close look at the WCPD vehicles and the equipment they carry. They get used, it's quite obvious. And a lot of time has been invested into training personnel so they always have proper staffing in a timely manner 24/7. I hope one day I am extended the privledge to photograph some of their equipment to illustrate what they are capable of.
The only level that County PD disappointed me on was the disbanding of the mounted unit. Mounted units are a great and positive outreach tool for law enforcement-public relationships....especially nowadays. Mounted units are also great at crowd control and just their visibility can be very intimidating and a deterent to many. I hope they bring it back someday.
For more reading, the following link details all the different specialized units within WCPD, and many aren't even in the everyday public eye:
http://publicsafety.westchestergov.com/shared-services-sp-139

All members of the Special Response Team are trained to use ALL of the equipment that Grant's (read your tax dollars) have purchased. Its not like we purchased a Rescue, that has to put a piece of apparatus out of service to staff. As far as tax money goes, who do you think pays for all of our equipment? Did the Echo Bay project have money trees grown to aquire equipment and personel? Bottom of da Hill, as far as the County needed more pieces of equipment, don't you think the tax payers could do with a few less firehouses to pay for in Tarrytown?

How else would they continue to steal jobs from the Various EMS and FD's in Westchester County?
On a serious note, who cares what they have, or how many? I'd rather them be prepared for the worst.