Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Trust between the Police and the community makes up the foundation of a healthy and vibrant City. This trust not only allows residents, business and uniformed police officers and law enforcement community a sense of security, but it is also allowing police to perform their duty efficiently and effectively in a non-bias and non-discriminatory manner.
Focus on Professional Development
Over the last two years our Police has undergone Implicit Bias training, Mental Health, and De-escalation training in order to reduce the anxiety and stress related to an emergency and potentially violent situation. As in any profession, professional development is key to maintaining a highly qualified, accountable and professional workforce. Every day, our police officers may face violent situations. However, we must continue to reinforce that the use of force is only deployed once all other options have been exhausted. The ability for police officers to successfully communicate is an essential skill for all law enforcement officers during routine interactions and to prevent a minor situation from escalating into a dangerous one. Both verbal conflict management and de-escalation training are necessary while police operate under an unprecedented amount of transparency.
During the creation of the Police Reform Plan in 2020, community members stressed that police officers should have annual training regarding use of force, de-escalation and implicit Bias. As Mayor, my administration will ensure that proper training for our police officers is accessible and required.
Continue to support the Procedural Justice Committee and Increase Community Outreach
In 2019, The City of Poughkeepsie Police formed a committee called the Procedural Justice Committee which was tasked to help improve relationships between the community and the police. In 2020, I was appointed by the Mayor to be Co-Chair of the committee to assist with the creation of the Police Reform Plan that was mandated by Governor Cuomo. We reviewed policies and procedures and made recommended changes based on community input. Through our community and police discussions we realized that there have been improvements throughout the years in regards to police community relations, but there is so much more work to do.
As Mayor, my administration will continue to provide opportunities for the community and police to build and re-establish trust between the Police Department and the multi-cultural communities/neighborhoods. Community and Police engagement with real dialogue will be key in improving Community & Police Relations. The community needs to see the police at work outside of tense and potentially adversarial situations.
Police Athletic League, Trunk or-treat, Cocoa with a Cop, Christmas Wonderland, etc. will allow residents the opportunity to know their police force in a fun and organic setting, and help to re-affirm that, at the end of the day, we are all neighbors and friends in City of Poughkeepsie. We need to create real positive partnerships and relationships with our law enforcement officers and discuss ways to get our officers more involved with the community. I will work diligently in expanding our Community Policing dept.
Dutchess County has developed a Youth Initiative Program which is a 5-day training program that helps produce strong, sustainable relationships that positively impact youth and police while reducing risk factors for delinquency and police targeting. The Mayor’s Office through the City of Poughkeepsie Youth Opportunity and Development Division will not only support this program but help create incentives for more City of Poughkeepsie youth to participate in the program to help improve the youth and local police relationships.
Through all these efforts, we also help bring more diversity to our police department.
Gun Violence and Gang Activity — As mayor, I will put more focus on the gun violence and gang activity occurring in the City of Poughkeepsie by working closely with community partners who specialize in dealing with the root causes of why some youth turned to gun violence and participate in gangs. My administration will work with the School District to ensure there are adequate educational opportunities to keep our children engaged in school and reduce the number of children dropping out of school. The Mayor’s Office will also support and help create support services for families dealing with food insecurity, housing insecurity, domestic violence, mental illness and etc. which contribute to our children resorting to negative behaviors and reckless actions.
The police department needs to have the resources and tools to combat gun violence which can be done through working closely with the community, having accessible and efficient technology, collaborating with other law enforcement agencies and working closely with the County District Attorney’s Office.