Police mergers measured case by case: Westchester, Rockland, Putnam Counties

[Disaster_Guy 96]

Police costs are in the spotlight more than ever as the nation wrestles with the brutal economy and communities, including those in the Lower Hudson Valley, search for ways to cut spending.

Police services come with a high price tag for specialized staff and include rising costs for health care, retirement benefits and vehicles.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20130113/NEWS/301130072

[x635 4,066]

Simple solution. Westchester County PD. Not only do taxpayers benefit, but, for example, the officers of smaller agencies would have extensive advancement oppurtunities, and can work areas that suit their needs. The interoperability would allow County PD Communications staff and dispatchers to deploy officers real-time to where they are needed faster and used to the fullest potential. And every officer in the county would be on the same level.

This doesn't have to be a kick everybody out and start over. This could be phased in, so those that have dedicated their careers to certain agencies and have moved up in rank don't have to have everything taken away from them.

The local control could be replaced with increased security. Having the manned desk could be replaced with a more interactive website for things such as obtaining reports online, and regional precincts.

The only issue I see would be local laws. How would consolidation affect that?

[nycmedic 65]

The big down side to mergers is a neighborhood can go from having 3 patrol cars to 1 or none depending on the crime going on in the dept they merged with. I rather pay a few bucks more in taxes to keep my town pd

[INIT915 1,119]

The big down side to mergers is a neighborhood can go from having 3 patrol cars to 1 or none depending on the crime going on in the dept they merged with. I rather pay a few bucks more in taxes to keep my town pd

And therein lies the debate. Everyone wants (what they perceive as) the personalized service of a local PD, all while paying the costs of a consolidated force.

[x635 4,066]

The big down side to mergers is a neighborhood can go from having 3 patrol cars to 1 or none depending on the crime going on in the dept they merged with. I rather pay a few bucks more in taxes to keep my town pd

On the flip side, you can go from 1 patrol car to 3 patrol cars depending on what criminal activity is going on in your neighborhood. In this case, you pay less, but get more.

In my daily commute, I see more County PD cars then I see local PD cars. They are everywhere. And NYSP has also seemingly beefed up their coverage of the Taconic. Both are extremly proactive, because they have the staff, resources, and flexibilty to do so. The presence of these agencies and the advanced level of serivce they provide with 100% dedication and professionalism to the community should be taken full advantage of.

[islander 27]

Simple solution. Westchester County PD.

Nassau County PD just closed half of their precincts. It's not that simple.

On the flip side, you can go from 1 patrol car to 3 patrol cars depending on what criminal activity is going on in your neighborhood. In this case, you pay less, but get more.

In my daily commute, I see more County PD cars then I see local PD cars. They are everywhere. And NYSP has also seemingly beefed up their coverage of the Taconic. Both are extremly proactive, because they have the staff, resources, and flexibilty to do so. The presence of these agencies and the advanced level of serivce they provide with 100% dedication and professionalism to the community should be taken full advantage of.

If your commute was mainly on local roads (or outside of Cortlandt or Ossining, or the airport) then OK. Otherwise, the County PD and the Troopers patrol the highways, of course you'll see more of them. I live in northern Westchester now and around home I can't swing a dead cat without hitting a local patrol car, but on my commute to work the county and state are all over the place. And as to the beefed up SP coverage on the Taconic, they just graduated their first academy class in three years, and those rookies need to be field trained.

Good for the County and State and the flexibilty they have to be extremely proactive. Maybe they have enough flexibility to help us locals with the "routine" calls like leaf blowers, flooded basements, school crossings, and the like that our residents expect us to handle. Not complaining at all, because in this instance it's apples and oranges....tough to compare law enforcement agencies with (at times) very different missions.

As a local police officer, I also kinda resent the insinuation that my department's limited resources are anything less than an "advanced level of serivce...with 100% dedication and professionalism to the community" just because we have less cars and cops on the road. We're all doing our best as we "do more with less".

PS, I'm not picking on you at all Seth, and I have great professional and personal relationships with many troopers and county cops. Seeing the issue from different perspectives - I've worked on the biggest job in the area, I'm currently working on a rather small job, and with relatives on LI PD's, my feeling is that the issue is a lot more complicated than just rolling everyone into one Westchester County PD.

[ex-commish 490]

In my daily commute, I see more County PD cars then I see local PD cars. They are everywhere. And NYSP has also seemingly beefed up their coverage of the Taconic. Both are extremly proactive, because they have the staff, resources, and flexibilty to do so. The presence of these agencies and the advanced level of serivce they provide with 100% dedication and professionalism to the community should be taken full advantage of.

They may have the staff and resources now but that can change given the times we are in.

[Nite Boss 34]

If County PD was the considation answer,than why isn't the powers to be, banging down their door? Why, I do agree there are many small jobs that need to be merged with adjoining jobs,I'm not convinced that County PD is the answer.There are many questions,that need to be answered,such as:

What happens to all the bosses? County PD can only absorb so many,and is it fair to the County Officers sitting on Promtional lists, to take all these bosses?

Some smaller jobs,are actually very busy and house many prisoners on a daily basis,how would that work?

You can't keep taking all the guys from these jobs and absorbing them into WCDPS,so what happens to them?

What about all these PD HQ's? The Town of Ossining is still trying to get rid of their PD building.

While I certainly agree,these small jobs,need to merged into larger one's,still not convinced that DPS is the answer,just because you see more cars on the Pkwy's and Hwy's.

Ask somebody that lives in Vista or some other corner of the County how long at night it takes for a PD to respond.I'm in no way bashing any agency,it's just sad when guys are responding long distances due to short staffing,and solo!

Yes,Consolidation may be the answer,and I agree with it,but on a Department by Department basis,what works in Ossining may not work in Pelham or Port Chester...

[x635 4,066]

As a local police officer, I also kinda resent the insinuation that my department's limited resources are anything less than an "advanced level of serivce...with 100% dedication and professionalism to the community" just because we have less cars and cops on the road. We're all doing our best as we "do more with less".

I didn't mean local agencies don't, I just meant that being a County PD, they still have local dedication.

PS, I'm not picking on you at all Seth, and I have great professional and personal relationships with many troopers and county cops. Seeing the issue from different perspectives - I've worked on the biggest job in the area, I'm currently working on a rather small job, and with relatives on LI PD's, my feeling is that the issue is a lot more complicated than just rolling everyone into one Westchester County PD.

No problem, I try to present opinions that will engage people in discussion. I'm glad to see it's doing that.