Less than one month after Nassau County announced its decision to merge eight police precincts into four, police union officials claimed that public safety was being put at risk. They are singing a different tune, however, after recent negotiations with the county.
Jim Carver, president of the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association (PBA), told Patch that the union and county came to a deal that will keep patrol units where they currently serve. Patrol units will now be assigned to one of the four corresponding community policing centers or one of the four precincts.
The original plan called for all patrols to be stationed out of the four precincts.
"Eighth Precinct cops, even though they're going to merging with the Second Precinct, they're going to be assigned to the policing center, which basically keeps everything intact," Carver said. "In other words, no patrols will be changed, which is what our concern was."
Carver said the realignment, which was approved by the Nassau Legislature in March, will save the county money as far as administrative functions go, but will not jeopardize public safety as he has mentioned in the past.
The deal, according to Carver, came the same day that 98 members of the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) accepted a voluntary incentive to retire before the March 22 deadline, saving the county more than $23 million in annual labor costs.
"For the most part, the savings come from administrative downsizing, but it doesn't effect the way that we've patrolled in the past," he said. "… Your neighborhood cop will still be your neighborhood cop."
The county confirmed that the changes to patrols will not affect the total savings from the realignment. According to county officials, the plan still provides for savings of approximately $20 million annually.
“Nassau's precinct realignment plan is progressing on schedule and residents will be happy to know that public safety remains intact as all patrol cars will remain in their current neighborhoods and 48 additional police officers will be assigned to patrol to protect our neighborhoods," Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said.
The change in patrol, or lack thereof, might not be the last modification to the policing plan. Both Carver and the county said that negotiations are still ongoing.
The NCPD is scheduled to complete the first realignment on May 1 when the Eighth Precinct will then be transformed into a community policing center.
This is the fourth part of our series on the plan to merge the precincts in Nassau County. Check back with Patch for more on this special report.
- Part I:
- Part II: Vacuum Effect, Transport Time
- Part III: Community Policing Centers
"When you dial 911, the call goes to a 911 call center in New Cassel, then to the police car in your neighborhood — that will not change under this plan as all 177 patrol cars remain in their current neighborhoods." Read that again... "all 177 patrol cars remain in their current neighborhoods". That was the statement from February, not a "walk-back" concession to the NCPBA. If anything, Jim Carver is looking to save face by making this sound like a new development... either that or he never understood the plan from the beginning.
Jaime Sumersille Regional Editor, Nassau County
A precinct is responsible for more than you know when it comes to keeping a community safe. Wait and see what changes will be made next by the administration.
Presently, one of the "reporting" places, or mustering places for the 7th Precinct cars is a parking lot of the Wantagh Fire Department. At the beginning of their tour, the officers for the cars assigned there go there to start their shifts. I am sure there was never any intention to change that mustering place, other than at some point it would have been called First Precinct instead of Seventh Precinct. Much ado about nothing, there. However, "reporting to" also means administrative and organizational "reporting structure", i.e. to a Tour Commander and a Precinct Commander, for things like vacation scheduling, calling out sick, performance reviews, transfers, temporary assignments, etc. Organizationally and administratively speaking, there will be no officers "reporting to" policing centers, as the organizational hierarchy to whom they "report" will be situated at the remaining precinct houses. I may not have this completely correct, so perhaps Patch could sit with the Seventh Precinct Commander and get it straight for all of us.