State Police To Patrol Hempstead, Help Reduce Gang Violence

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that the state would be sending special resources and police officers to the Village of Hempstead to help combat gang violence there and develop policing strategies to enhance public safety.

"The situation here is not unique but it is unacceptable: it's guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them and it's gang violence," Cuomo said. "Job No. 1 for government is to keep people safe, and the village, county and state are working together as one team to coordinate strategy and resources. In the short term, we are deploying additional state police personnel to supplement local law enforcement's patrol force, and in the long term the state and county will work with the village to ensure it has the most up-to-date technology and training resources available to tackle this issue in a comprehensive way."

Cuomo announced a number of initiatives that the state will undertake to address the violence in Hempstead.

New York State Police will deploy a mobile command center to direct operations and assistance to the Village of Hempstead. State Police will also provide two daily patrols with two State Troopers per car to serve both as support for county and local police, as well as a visual deterrent against further criminal activity in Hempstead.

The Division of Criminal Justice Services has committed to sending technical advisers to the Hempstead Police to assess their license plate readers, video cameras and social media analysis. They will also provide Hempstead Police with the most up-to-date technical training to enhance their policing strategies. This technical assistance will include guidance on the most effective utilization and deployment of law enforcement technologies and resources.

"Safety is of paramount concern to the Village of Hempstead, the Hempstead Police Department and Hempstead residents," said Hempstead Village Mayor Don Ryan. "We are pleased that the New York State Troopers will be furthering their partnership with the Hempstead Village Police Department in the interests of ensuring the security of our neighborhoods and the safety of our families. We are confident that with our cooperation with Nassau County, New York State and federal law enforcement authorities, Hempstead will continue on the track of improved safety for this village. We are grateful for any additional resources that the State of New York may provide us, whether financially or with patrol cars, and look forward to working side by side with the state's extraordinary law enforcement officers."

Additionally, New York State, Nassau County and the Village of Hempstead, with DCJS, have agreed to form a joint task force to create longer-term goals to combat gang violence in the village, which might include community engagement, hot spots policing, investigative strategies and deployment of technology.

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) will formally join the FBI-led Long Island Gang Task Force through its Office of Special Investigations. The Long Island Gang Task Force comprises more than 30 members of federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and helps agencies combine intelligence and other resources to conduct comprehensive investigations into gang activity. OSI will assign a full-time investigator to serve on the task force to enable local law enforcement to access a wealth of criminal intelligence, as well as coordinate gang enforcement activities in the community.

In an effort to enhance community safety, Cuomo has directed DOCCS to establish specialized gang caseloads for individuals under community supervision with known gang affiliations on Long Island. This will include the establishment of two new gang caseloads in Nassau County for heightened monitoring for gang and firearm activity.

The criteria for a parolee to be placed on a gang caseload would include a history of being an identified gang member, a criminal history of violence or weapons possession and a review of their adjustment to Community Supervision. Each gang caseload would be comprised of 25 identified gang members to be placed under intensive supervision.

Parolees placed on the gang caseload would be required to abide by a series of special conditions, including not associating with known gang members, abiding by a curfew and travel restrictions, not wearing clothing identifying the individual as a gang member, as well as other restrictions imposed by the parole officer.

"Families in the Village of Hempstead deserve a safe neighborhood to raise their children in," said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. "Nassau County will continue to work collaboratively with our partners at all levels of government to build on the progress we've made driving major crime to historic lows."