SARATOGA SPRINGS – Community policing, which in earlier years was found to be a successful tool in fighting crime, but gradually fell by the wayside, is returning with positive results. That assessment came during day one of a two-day state Division of Criminal Justice Services conference held in Saratoga Springs for law enforcement leaders.
Newburgh Police Chief Daniel Cameron, who is attending the conference, noted the city has brought back that community approach.
“The lesson learned in Newburgh is that we did fight crime, we
did address it, we kind of circled the wagons due to budget constraints,
but we forgot that we are missing a very big part of policing and that
is community policing so we found ways to reintroduce it into the community,”
Cameron said. “But, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. We
started it but we have a long way to go.”
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler is also at the conference.
“The focus on the prosecution’s point of view is on seeing the perception problem that we have in the community with policing and coming up with a fair and transparent way of dealing with it so that the community understands that we not only want to serve in a role of crime prevention – we want to solve crime; we want them to be part of the solution and have them understand that their voices being heard and they have a say in how we are going to deal with crime prevention, crime control and the prosecution,” Hoovler said.
The state conference is being held for communities where the GIVE program – Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative – is involved, including in the counties of Orange, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester.
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