SUFFOLK COUNTY EXECUTIVE BELLONE ANNOUNCES OVERWHELMING APPROVAL OF THE COUNTY’S POLICE REFORM AND REINVENTION PLAN

Suffolk County Announces Task Force on School Resource Officer Program to Make Recommendations on the Future of the Program

 

County Pledges $1 Million to Fund Mental Health Crisis Response

 

County to Advance Legislation to Amend Human Rights Law to Conform to Recommendations in Suffolk Police Reform Plan

 

County to Advance Legislation to Codify Comprehensive Data Collection Including Traffic and Pedestrian Stop Data

 

 

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today announced the overwhelming approval of the County’s Police Reform and Reinvention plan by the Suffolk County Legislature, which was first unveiled on March 12. The County Executive also announced that he will convene a School Resource Officer (SRO) Reimagine Task Force to review and determine the future of the Suffolk County Police Department’s School Resource Officer Program.

 

Additionally, County Executive Bellone proposed two resolutions to help implement Suffolk’s plan. The first resolution will codify the comprehensive data collection detailed in the plan including the data on traffic and pedestrian stops. The second resolution will amend Suffolk County’s Human Rights law to conform with the recommendations made in the plan. Both resolutions will move forward upon adoption of the plan by the Suffolk County Legislature. County Executive Bellone also announced a commitment of $1 million to help fund mental health crisis response, a key component of the plan.  

 

“The passage of this plan today is truly a historic moment in Suffolk County, and I am grateful to all those who came to the table and everyone who took part in the reform process to tackle the toughest of challenges,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “Policing is a sacred duty, and this plan prioritizes transparency and accountability, changes the culture of policing in Suffolk County so that our communities have trust in those that are sworn to protect them and brings us closer to dismantling the injustices that have existed within the system for far too long.” 

 

Overall, the plan seeks cultural change in the Suffolk County Police Department, with enhanced civilian oversight, increased accountability and transparency, and expanded community policing and engagement programs. The reform plan alters the relationship between the police and the community by upgrading command policy relating to police advancement; community engagement; training, and duty to intervene.  Key areas of impact include situations involving mental health, traffic stops, and warrants, along with improved data collection and dissemination.

SRO Program Task Force

The County Executive announced the creation of the Reimagine SRO Program Task Force to review and make recommendations regarding the future of the program. The Task Force will include school officials, community leaders, current SRO’s and advocates that have expressed concerns about the program.  

 

Traffic and Pedestrian Stop Data

Last year, after an intensive review of traffic stop data, Suffolk County released a report completed by the John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety, which confirmed that Black and Hispanic drivers are overrepresented in police traffic stops relative to their share of the Suffolk County population. To address these concerns the reform plan calls for enhanced oversight and review of traffic stop data, including the creation of a public traffic stop data dashboard that will function as an online data hub where anyone can easily interact with real data.

 

The department will also implement the Safety First Campaign, a first-of-its-kind initiative on Long Island that will build community trust by promoting road and driver safety, while attempting to avoid placing an additional economic burden on those who are financially disadvantaged. The program provides an opportunity for police officers to provide education to individuals pulled over for minor vehicle equipment failures. This new warning-and-education campaign will provide drivers with a warning for their first equipment violation, instead of a ticketed fine. This warning will be paired with educational resources to highlight the importance of addressing the equipment violation.

 

To ensure the long-term collection of traffic and pedestrian stop data, as part of the reform plan, the County will introduce legislation to codify the collection of this critical data into County law. The SCPD will continue to publicly provide raw traffic stop data and will expand the raw data available to include pedestrian and bicycle stops.

 

Civilian Oversight: Suffolk County Human Rights Commission

A key aspect of the reinvention and reform plan is enhancing civilian oversight of the Suffolk County Police Department through the County’s Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission, an independent agency, would receive all complaints regarding potential police misconduct as pursuant to Policy 1010 Personnel Investigations and Complaints. This enhanced complaint intake process will be in addition to filing a complaint at a police precinct, community kiosk, or online.

 

The Human Rights Commission will have the ability to review police misconduct complaints in tandem with the Internal Affairs Bureau through a shared data portal. Upon completion of the investigation, the Human Rights Commission will also conduct a final review of the complaint and investigation. Once findings are finalized, Human Rights Investigator and/or the police department will provide the final determination and actions to be taken to the complainant. Residents will be able to call Suffolk 311 to be connected directly to the unit. The County Executive will put forth legislation to implement these changes.

 

Mental Health Response

The reform plan calls for an overhaul of the SCPD’s mental health crisis response. The plan calls for the implementation of a three-tiered approach including 911 Call Diversion, ongoing collaboration with mental health partners, and expansion of Crisis Intervention Training, which has already certified 189 SCPD and 24 Associated Agency officers. The SCPD Communications Section will modify protocol for transferring mental health service calls from 911 Operators to the Crisis Hotline to better serve Suffolk residents in need.  

 

As part of the 911 Call Diversion program, the 911 call operator will speak with the caller to assess the nature of the service needed and a transfer will occur when the assessment has been determined that there is no apparent medical emergency or safety concern during behavioral health crisis call. The Crisis Hotline Social Worker will continue assessment of the call and can assist in facilitating telephone counseling, transportation to the Diagnostic Assessment Stabilization Hub (DASH), and dual response from the Mobile Crisis Team and SCPD officers, which would occur when the Crisis Hotline worker triages a caller who is experiencing a behavioral health crisis with a potential danger to self, the general public, the Behavioral Health Responders, or in instances in where a Crisis Hotline worker deems a co-response with the police is most appropriate. This response framework exists to provide the most appropriate support available to the person experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Alternatively, calls that are assessed as ones where the caller is experiencing an emergency involving a behavioral health crisis and has been assessed to pose a hazard or risk concerning the safety of persons will result in a police response. The SCPD Communications Section has begun training on and testing this new script and procedure.

 

As part of the County’s commitment to overhaul the SCPD’s mental health crisis response, the County will provide $1 million in funding in the 2022 budget to support the initiatives outlined in the reform plan.

  

In September of last year, the County Executive created a Task Force in response to New York State’s Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative which solicited input from individuals and organizations across the county. The Task Force examined current policies and procedures and conducted a series of virtual public outreach meetings, in addition to one-on-one stakeholder meetings that established a direct line of communication between the Task Force and the community throughout the process.

 

The reinvention plan, developed in collaboration with the County’s Police Reform task force and Co-Facilitators Deputy County Executive Vanessa Baird-Streeter and Deputy County Executive Jon Kaiman, focused on seven major points for reform; Training and Continuing Education, Recruitment and Staffing, Community Policing, Traffic Stops, Arrests and Warrants, Mental Health Response and Police Systems, Accountability and Body Cameras.

  

Roger Clayman, Executive Director, Long Island Federation of Labor, said: “The reinvention plan is a testament to how a collaborative process should bring together a range of diverse stakeholders to produce real reform for policing in Suffolk County. I am pleased that the Task Force has delivered a workable blueprint to improve diversity in the County’s recruitment and promotion process while ensuring for a robust evaluation process. I thank County Executive Bellone for assembling this team of experts and advocates that have served as a model for how to advance reform on the local level.”

 

Jeffrey Steigman, Psy. D., Chief Administrative and Innovation Officer of Family Service League, inc., said: “Family Service League, inc. is thrilled to expand its partnership with Suffolk County and the police department. It’s a natural extension of our collaboration to date and builds upon it in important ways which in time will be scalable and significant. Individuals who have a behavioral health crisis and need of assistance will, in many instances, now be connected to a behavioral health professional to determine how to best intervene. This innovative approach will change the trajectory for many and is expected to result in lasting positive outcomes.”

 

Sharon Webber, Esq., Criminal Defense Attorney, said: “I, Sharon Weber, Esq., support this collaborative plan in response to Executive Order 203.  I believe that it addresses many of the concerns of the community, albeit not all. It is a start. It is forward-looking and reformative, hopefully putting Suffolk County on the path to greater social equity for all of its citizens. I deeply thank all involved for their commitment to be part of the solution.” 

 

David Kilmnick, President and CEO, LGBT Network, said: “I am pleased that this Reinvention Plan will codify an LGBTQ+ policy and procedure to ensure that Suffolk County is a more supportive place to live. The County Executive deserves credit for steering a process that ultimately provides our officers with the tools to conduct their job with transparency and fairness for all. I am grateful that the County Executive has put forth a plan that reflects a diverse range of input from the public, and I thank each of the members of this Task Force to making Suffolk County a more just and equitable place to live.”  

 

Girish Patel, BAPS Hindu Temple, said: “I commend County Executive Bellone and the Task Force for producing a plan that enhances community policing and ensures Suffolk County makes data-driven policing decisions. By creating an after-action data portal and launching a Traffic Stop Data Review Dashboard, we have faith that we are doing everything possible to eliminate racial inequities that exist within our criminal justice system.”

 

Sister Sanaa Nadim, Chaplain, Islamic Society of North America, said: “I want to express my deep appreciation for all of the work that went into our police reform and reinvention task force. I understand the incredible sensitivity of this and its deep implications. A comprehensive and community-based approach was applied to our analysis and I do feel it reflects the expressions and impressions of so many of our constituents. Its purpose was ultimately to bring our communities closer together and to establish a commitment to cooperation and connectivity between police and policing and the communities they work to protect and service. I do hope that despite the incredibly tense and politically fraught aspects of our work, there can be a deeper vision of understanding that it was aimed at reconciliation. So much time and energy was given to this work. And I can’t express enough my gratitude for this. Thank you especially our leader, our county executive for centering the voices of people of color and diverse backgrounds in this work and initiative and for his firm commitment to enhancing the Suffolk County PD.”

 

Cindy Reide Combs, L.M.S.W., Faculty Field Liaison, Adelphi School of Social Work, said: “As a social worker and resident of Suffolk County, I thought it was important to work on the Suffolk County Police Reform and Reinvention Task Force. My interests span from mental health to traffic stops, work with immigrants, youth, and domestic violence. During meetings I witnessed the earnest work and experience of Suffolk county residents, community leaders, county personnel and department professionals. Together we converged on important issues that are at the forefront of our community. This was a heavy lift.  While many ideas important to task force members may not have been agreed upon, first and foremost was the safety and concern for Suffolk County residents.”