Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has highlighted an increased commitment to community policing initiatives designed to further build the trust between Nassau County PD and the communities they serve in her proposed 2021 budget. The County Executive’s proposed budget provides funding for:
- Increased staffing in Community Affairs dedicated to expanding Police Athletic League (PAL) programs
- An increase in the number of Problem Oriented Policing (POP) officers at each precinct from two to three officers (for a total of 24 POP officers)
- The addition of two social workers to assist the Police Department’s Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team
Nassau County’s law enforcement and first responders enable residents to live in the safest community in America, according to a US News and World Report ranking published last week. To sustain this level of public safety, the County has implemented a program of steady hiring to ensure the Police Department remains strong, in anticipation of attrition through retirements. County Executive Curran’s proposed budget funds additional classes of up to 200 Police recruits.
“Building strong relationships and trust between Police and the community has been the key to making Nassau County the safest community in America. My Administration is committed to strengthening our successful community policing model, including expanding the Police Athletic League program and increasing the number of Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) cops,” said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
County Executive Curran’s proposed $3.286 billion budget plan follows through on the three core objectives she laid out in her State of the County 2020 address: maintaining fiscal discipline, providing a no property tax increase budget, and ensuring adequate resources for the Department of Health, law enforcement and first responders to maintain public health and safety.
Included in her budget are the following proposals to expand Nassau County’s community policing initiatives:
Police Athletic League (PAL)
County Executive Curran’s proposed budget for the Police Department will provide resources to increase the officers assigned to the Community Affairs Unit that will work with the community through the PAL. Currently, the Nassau County Police Department provides officers to oversee 29 PAL units and interact with the youths in communities through sports, crafts, educational programs, and more.
Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) Unit
County Executive Curran’s proposed budget maintains the Problem Oriented Policing (POP) Unit that has been increased from two to three officers in each precinct (for a total of 24 POP officers). The POP unit also now has an Inspector assigned as a Coordinator and each POP officer is assigned a member of the Youth Advisory Council, which consists of young leaders committed to criminal justice issues and improving police-community relations.
Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team
County Executive Curran’s proposed budget includes additional resources in the Department of Human Services, including the hiring of two psychiatric social workers for their Mobile Crisis Team that assists the Police Officers responding to 911 emergency calls involving residents under mental health duress and who may be a danger to themselves or others.
“The Nassau County Police Department has been instrumental in achieving the prestigious rank of being the Safest Community in America. This is not by accident and has everything to do with the hard work of its officers and civilians in the department. The continued Police hiring by County Executive Curran enables us to increase our ranks within specialty units, POP, Community Affairs and PAL which allows us to continue in engagement with our diverse communities to keep Nassau #1,” said Nassau County Commissioner of Police Patrick Ryder.
“Our team of mental health professionals and practitioners continue to work alongside law enforcement to provide psychiatric expertise when responding to individuals in crisis. Additionally, we are working to further improve the co-responder model as well as exploring alternative approaches when responding to homes and other sites outside the traditional clinical setting. During these unprecedented times, it’s good news that County Executive Curran’s budget continues to increase access to mental health care and services,” said Nassau County Commissioner of Human Services Carolyn McCummings.
