Village of Monroe adopts 38 recommendations for the ‘reinvention’ the police department

The Village of Monroe has adopted 38 recommendations for the state-mandated “reinvention” of its police department.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed all 500 communities in the state with police departments, including 32 in Orange County, to prepare such reform plans by April 1 or face loss of state aid.

Monroe’s department is one of about one-third of those n the state that has been accredited, a formal recognition that it meets or exceeds professional standards, giving it a leg up on the reform process.

Diversity

The village’s makeup is diverse: 49.9 percent of its residents are white, 33.7 percent Hispanic, 8 percent Black and 3.7 percent Asian-American. But of its 23 sworn officers, only one is Black, one Hispanic and one female. The population of the village is 50.3 percent female.

The village pledges to increase hiring diversity to better reflect the composition of the community.

Key elements

Other suggestions include:

Establishment of a police community council modeled after the advisory committee that helped prepare the reinvention plan to meet semiannually;

A community affairs program;

Mental health awareness and expanded de-escalation training for officers; and

An assessment of the cost and usefulness or providing body cameras.

“While our Police Department is dedicated to doing the work they are tasked with each day,” Mayor Neil Dwyer wrote in a letter accompanying the village’s plan, “it is important in these trying times to reflect on how we currently accomplish this and in what ways we can do it better, while serving to ensure a safe and progressive future for all members of our community.”

The survey says

The police department received good marks in a survey prepared by the advisory committee. Of the 111 respondents, 73.9 percent said they were very satisfied with the agency and 13.5 percent somewhat satisfied.

Detailed information about the reform process is available on the police department’s website.

The draft report can be reached at http://www.monroepd.org/Portals/1/Monroe%20PRRC%20Draft%20Plan_1.pdf