Brewster Begins Discussing How To Reinvent Local Policing

BREWSTER, NY — The Brewster village Board of Trustees will talk with Police Chief John DelGardo at the Wednesday night meeting about New York's new mandate for review and reform of local policing.

"Maintaining public safety is imperative; it is one of the essential roles of government. In order to achieve that goal, there must be mutual trust and respect between police and the communities they serve," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a letter Aug. 17 to the 500 jurisdictions with police departments. "The success and safety of our society depends on restoring and strengthening mutual trust. With crime growing in many cities, we must seize this moment of crisis and turn it into an opportunity for transformation.

"While the conflict is real and the issues are complicated, we know in New York that denial or avoidance is not a successful strategy."

Every locality must adopt a plan for reform by April 1, 2021 to be eligible for future state funding.

The New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative offers guidance including a framework and topics for consideration by local police departments, elected officials and citizens as they develop their local plans for reform.

"Each community must envision for itself the appropriate role of the police. Policies must be developed to allow the police to do their jobs to protect the public and these policies must meet with the local communities’ acceptance," Cuomo said.

There's no “one size fits all” solution, Cuomo said. A fact-based and honest dialogue about the public safety needs of the community is key.

Brewster's police department, for example, has 25 part-time officers (up from 17 in 2012) who work, on average, two shifts per week.

While there's no write-up on the village's website about the department, the webpage does offer three ways of getting in contact with police:

• Village Police: (845) 279-3618 (rings to State Police)
• Police@brewstervillage-ny.gov
• Officer on Duty Phone Number for Non-emergencies: 914-804-8442

State guidelines call for this collaborative process:

• Review the needs of the community served by its police agency
• Evaluate the department’s current policies and practices
• Establish policies that allow police to effectively and safely perform their duties
• Involve the entire community in the discussion
• Develop policy recommendations resulting from this review
• Offer a plan for public comment
• Present the plan to the local legislative body to ratify or adopt it

The village board meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.