Land For Sale: W. Water



New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan

Table of Contents:



SECTION

PAGE NUMBERS

  1. Introduction

  1. Department Profile

  2. Municipality Demographics

  3. Agency Demographics


Pages 2 – 3

Page 2

Page 3

Page 3

  1. Reform & Reinvention Collaboration Process

  1. Collaborative Approach

  2. Opt-in Partners

  3. Team Leadership

  4. Process Implementation Approach & Timeline


Pages 3 – 5

Page 3

Page 4

Page 4

Page 5

  1. Public Participation & Feedback Channels

  1. Community Stakeholder Groups

  2. Listening Sessions

  3. Surveys


Page 5 - 7

Page 6

Page 6

Pages 6-7

  1. Painted Post Village Reform Plan

  1. New York State Mandates

  2. PPPD Reforms


Pages 8 - 19

Pages 8-11

Pages 12-19

  1. Appendix

Page 20




Executive Order No. 203

New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan


January 2021




  1. INTRODUCTION:


On June 12, 2020, Governor A. Cuomo issued an executive order directing municipalities that employ police officers to actively engage stakeholders in the local community and develop locally approved plans for the strategies, policies and procedures of local police agencies.  In accordance with this order, the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Cities of Corning and Hornell, Villages of Addison, Bath, Canisteo, Hammondsport, Painted Post and Wayland, and the Town of Cohocton, entered a collaborative effort to move through a county-wide process to enact police reform plans. 



  1. Department Profile:



Municipality: Village of Painted Post

Law Enforcement Agency: Painted Post Police Department

Village of Painted Post’s Executive Officer: Ralph Foster, Mayor

Police Dept Officer In Charge: OIC Shawn M. Copp















  1. Municipality Demographics:


The Village of Painted Post is located in the Town of Erwin. The Painted Post Police Department is the local police agency and provides assistance to the full and part-time police agencies within the surrounding area.  The 2019 estimated Census data indicates that the Village population is 1,612 with 91.3% white, 3.7% Asian, and 2% spread out in unknown percentages across other races. The Median age is 41.5 years for every 100 people. The Median income for a household within the Village is $53,672. A total of 7.3% of the households are below the poverty level.


  1. Agency Demographics:


The Painted Post Village Police Department consists of 7 total employees.  The department consists of 1 Officer In Charge, 1 Full-Time Patrolman, 5 Part-Time Patrolman.  Of the employees within the department all 7 are white males. 


 

  1. REFORM & REINVENTION COLLABORATION PROCESS


  1. Collaborative Opt-in Approach:


The Village of Painted Post partnered with other villages, towns, and cities in Steuben County as a collaborative effort. Corning Incorporated, which is headquartered in Steuben County provided a resource to assist with program management and change management expertise. 


  1. Opt-in Agency Partners:


        • Steuben County Sheriff’s Office (32 towns)

        • Village of Addison

        • Village of Bath

        • Village of Canisteo

        • Town of Cohocton

        • City of Corning

        • Village of Hammondsport

        • City of Hornell

        • Village of Painted-Post

        • Village of Wayland




  1. Team Leadership:


  • Jim Allard, Steuben County Sheriff

  • Kyle Amidon, Canisteo Police Chief

  • Brooks Baker, Steuben County District Attorney

  • Mark Barnhart, Cohocton & Wayland Officer in Charge,

  • Bill Boland, Corning Mayor

  • Shawn Copp, Painted Post Officer in Charge

  • Jason Dininny, Hammondsport Officer in Charge

  • Chad Mullen, Bath Police Chief

  • Ted Murray, Hornell Police Chief

  • Mark Ryckman, Corning City Manager

  • Steve Sellard, Addison Officer in Charge

  • Jeff Spaulding, Corning Police Chief

  • Jack K. Wheeler, Steuben County Manager

  • Dawn White, Corning Incorporated Program Manager


  1. Process Implementation Approach & Timeline


 



  1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION & FEEDBACK CHANNELS


  1. Community Team Members: (106 key stakeholder participants across 60 organizations; See Appendix 1-1)


  • Steuben County Law Officials

  • Steuben County Elected & Appointed Officials

  • Representatives from Steuben County Nonprofit Organizations, Healthcare Organizations, Educational Institutions, and Businesses

  • Citizens who represent marginalized populations

  1. Listening Sessions:


  • Conducted 9/9- 9/17 via Zoom and were advertised via the local news channels, newspapers, websites, and social media with an estimated 300+ participants

  • 3 Public Listening Sessions were open to all Steuben County citizens

  • 10 Private listening sessions were held with these special audiences:

      • Community Stakeholder Participant groups, Substance Use Disorders, Corning Community College students, Corning Black Employee Network, SPECTRA LGBTQ group, Global Latino Community, Friendship Baptist Church, Face to Faith Ministries, Steuben Greens, LGBTQ+ Community



  1. Surveys: (anonymous participation for all)


  • Stakeholder Group Participant Survey:

  • 15 survey questions and 4 demographic data questions sent out via email

  • Target audience of 103 stakeholders; 83 participants for an 81% response rate

  • Meeting held with participants to review the results



  • General Public Survey:

  • 15 survey questions and 4 demographic data questions; Notifications shared via news channels, newspapers, websites, and social media from 8/12 – 8/22

  • Printed copies dropped off at various locations and collected by city & law enforcement personnel for manual entry

  • Target audience of 95,000 county residents; 1,766 participants for a 1.8% response rate

  • Results posted for public viewing


  • Police Officer Survey:

  • 6 survey questions, and 1 demographic question to identify their police department disseminated via email and printed copies

  • Target audience of 100 police officers; 52 participants for a 52% response rate

  • Results posted for public viewing





  • Arrested Persons Questionnaire

  • 3 survey questions and 3 demographic data questions asked during booking about the professionalism of the arresting officer(s). Agencies in Steuben County participated during September 2020.

  • 55 participants



  1. PAINTED POST POLICE DEPARTMENT REFORM PLAN


The reform plan, in accordance with public feedback and the executive order requirements, consists of six primary themes:

NYS Mandated Changes, Equality and Social Justice, Transparency and Accountability, Community Relations, Operational Policy & Procedures and Training.


  1. NEW YORK STATE MANDATES:


The reform items found in this section are derived directly from the Executive Order No. 203


NY State Mandated Changes 

Reform Item

Description

PPPD Action  

Status

NYS Mandate - 1

NYSM – 1. 

Civil Penalties for Filing False Reports on Member of a Protected Class

Establishes civil penalties for falsely Summoning a Police Officer when there is no reason to believe a crime, offense or threat has been committed involving a member of a protected class. (Effective June 13, 2020)


Conducted in-service training

Complete






NYS Mandate - 2

NYSM – 2. 

Require Police

Officers to Report

the Discharge of

Weapons

Requires a police officer or peace officer

(whether on or off duty) who discharges

his or her weapon under circumstances

where a person could be struck by a

bullet to verbally report the incident

within six hours, and file a written report

within forty-eight hours. (Effective September 13, 2020)

Amended Use of Force policy

Complete








NY State Mandated Changes 

Reform Item

Description

PPPD Action  

Status

NYS Mandate - 3

NYSM – 3. 

Require the Reporting of Police Acts or Omissions

Resulting in a Person’s Death to the Office of Special Investigation

Establishes an Office of Special Investigation within the Office of Attorney General which will have investigative authority and criminal jurisdiction for any incident involving the death of a person caused by an act or omission by a police officer or a peace officer employed as a correction officer or contracted by an education, public health, social service, parks or housing agency. Where an investigation concludes that the death or matters relating to the death or investigation of the death involved criminal conduct, the Office will be empowered to prosecute any such alleged offenses. (Effective April 2021)


Will conduct in-service training and establish communication method with the Attorney General’s office.

Pending 

on needed actions of NYS






NYS Mandate - 4

NYSM – 4.

Ban Choke Holds

The Eric Garner Anti Choke Hold Act 

creates the crime of aggravated

strangulation (making it a Class C felony)

and establishes criminal penalties for a

police officer or peace officer who uses a

chokehold that causes serious physical

injury or death. (Effective June 12, 2020)

Conducted in-service training

Complete






NYS Mandate - 5

NYSM – 5.

Require Medical Response for Arrestees 


Affirms an individual’s right to medical and mental health attention while under arrest or otherwise in custody of a police officer or peace officer. Failure to provide reasonable and good faith medical assistance could result in a cause of action against the officer, representative and/or entity. (June 15, 2020)

Conducted in-service training

Complete






NY State Mandated Changes 

Reform Item

Description

PPPD Action  

Status

NYS Mandate - 6

NYSM – 6. 

Require Policing

Statistics to be

Reported to the

Division of Criminal Justice Services

Requires courts to compile and

publish data concerning arrests and court proceedings involving low-level offenses

such as violations and traffic offenses.

Such report will include aggregate and

anonymized demographic information

such as race, ethnicity and sex. This bill

requires police departments to submit

annual reports on arrest-related deaths

to the Department of Criminal Justice

Services, as well as the Governor and the

State Legislature. (Effective

December 12, 2020)

Will provide data to Office of Court Administration and Division of Criminal Justice Services

Q1 - 2021






NYS Mandate - 7

NYSM – 7. 

Recording

of Law Enforcement

Activity

Provides that a person not under arrest

or in the custody of a law enforcement

official has the right to record police

activity and to maintain custody and

control of that recording and of any

property or instruments used by that

person to record such activities. A person

in custody or under arrest does not, by

that status alone, forfeit such right to

record. (Effective July 13, 2020)


No actions needed, already in compliance

Complete













NY State Mandated Changes 

Reform Item

Description

PPPD  Action  

Status

NYS Mandate - 8

NYSM – 8.

Provide the Public

Access to Personnel Records of Officers

Repeal of Civil Rights Law 50-a, which had made all personnel records used to evaluate

the performance toward continued

employment or promotion of police

officers, firefighters, paramedics,

correction officers or peace officers

confidential and not subject to inspection

or review without the individual’s express

written consent or a court order. This

legislation also amends the New York

State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL),

subjecting any record created in

furtherance of a law enforcement

disciplinary proceeding to disclosure

under FOIL. The new FOIL provisions

require specific sensitive personal

information, including medical history, to

be redacted from such records prior to

being disclosed. (Effective June 13, 2020)

Notified the clerk  for compliance.

Complete














  1. PAINTED POST POLICE DEPARTMENT REFORMS


Items found in this section were identified based on the feedback collected from the listening sessions and surveys. 


Category

Reform Item

Description

PPPD Actions

Completion Timeline

Equality & Social Justice

ESJ-1. Diversify & Increase Candidate Recruitment Pools

Take proactive steps to increase diversity of the candidate pools so newly hired officers better reflect community demographics.

Encourage potential candidates to take advantage of preparatory law enforcement training. (non-weapon portions of the police academy curriculum) 

  1. Conduct outreach with faith-based groups to increase interaction with youth and potential employees


  1. Increase Social Media Advertisement to attract diverse candidates and raise awareness of:

    1. Available positions

    2. Civil service requirements

    3. Availability of pre-employment police academies


  1. Partner with the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office Protocol




Q1 - 2021




Q4 – 2021








Q1-2021






Equality & Social Justice

ESJ-2. Provide Civil Service Test Training 

Provide Civil Service test training to prepare applicants for the entry-level examination. Partner with SUNY Corning & Alfred  to offer this assistance.

  1. Partner with SUNY to develop & offer a tutoring course for candidates expressing interest in applying/testing for the Civil Service exam.


2.    Partner with the Steuben County   

        Sheriff’s Office Protocol

Q4 – 2021





Q1-2021











Equality & Social Justice

ESJ-3. Expand Diversity and Bias Awareness Training 

Expand diversity and bias awareness training to include marginalized populations such as Low Income, Substance Use Disorders, Minority, and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as training to recognize systemic racism.

  1. Require Implicit Bias Awareness Training for all officers


  1. Conduct Train the Trainer sessions, to develop internal skilled presenters on implicit bias awareness training to support county-wide efforts


  1. Partner with the Steuben County

       Sheriff’s Office for training

Q4 - 2021



Q2 – 2022





Q1-2021




Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Transparency & Accountability 

TA-1. Launch a Personnel Complaint Review Panel


Launch external panel to review personnel complaints, investigations, and adjudications to ensure that best practices in personnel actions are being followed. Panel will include professionals with working knowledge of human resources, civil service, and  labor relations.

  1. Benchmark best practices of personnel complaint review panels across the country.


  1. Establish a personnel complaint review process


  1. Partner with the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office Protocol

Q4 - 2022




Q4 – 2023



Q1-2021






Transparency & Accountability

TA-2. Increase Transparency of Arrest Activities & Calls for service

Ensure citizens have access to appropriate police data & arrest activities via a monthly report provided at the monthly Village Board Meeting and placed on the Village of Painted Post website. 

  1. Publish these monthly reports:

  1. Calls for service, cases and arrests, and use of force incidents

  2. Arrests by sex and race.


Q1 - 2021













Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Transparency & Accountability

TA-3. Reduce Personnel Complaints & Adopt  a County-wide Reporting Method & Tracking


Identify key behaviors & causes that may drive citizens to complain about officers and incorporate these findings into trainings. 

Work to align agencies county-wide to adopt a standardized personnel complaint process. Develop a county-wide tracking system of complaints.

  1. Leverage field training officers to review complaints and determine needed focus areas & changes in trainings


  1. Establish a standardized personnel complaint process county-wide


  1. Develop a county-wide tracking system to assist in identifying training needs.

Q1 - 2021





Q1 - 2022



Q3 - 2022






Transparency & Accountability

TA-4. Increase transparency of Use of Force Incidents

& Personnel Complaints

Ensure better and timely citizen access to use of force data and personnel complaint incidents and outcomes.  Modify current PPPD software systems to better collect and track this data.

  1. Add annual report data fields in current system for:

  1. Use of Force (type & frequency)

  2. Personnel Complaints and adjudications

Q2 - 2021






Transparency & Accountability

TA-5. Publish Job Descriptions and Annual Performance Appraisal Process  


Make job descriptions and performance process more readily available to improve transparency. 

  1. Post job descriptions of Painted Post Police personnel (OIC and patrolman) and performance appraisal document on Village website.

Q1 - 2024




Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Community Relations

CR-1. Conduct Public Education on Policing Practices 

Increase the transparency of policing methods and governance by educating the public on these practices.

  1. Provide videos and brochures to share recommended actions for citizens when interacting with police.


  1. Enhance Citizen’s Police Academy with the SCSO

  1. Include in-person & on-line versions

  2. Partner with SUNY Alfred and Corning Community College to add a Citizen’s Police Academy on-line class offering .

Q1 - 2022




Q1 - 2023






Community Relations

CR-2. Strengthen Customer Service Practices

Reinforce need for positive communications through better customer service & professional development training.

Develop a quality assurance program to identify how citizens perceive the PPPD customer service. 

  1. Develop & conduct Professional Development training on communications for Supervisors



  1. Develop & conduct best practice communication trainings county-wide:

  1. Positive & effective customer service

  2. Best practices for general communications

Q1 - 2023





Q1 - 2024






Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Community Relations

CR-3. Strengthen Community Safety Training Programs 

Partner with volunteer  instructors to provide key safety trainings that are provided to residents or  community groups and improve offerings.  These trainings help enhance their safety knowledge and support better relations.


  1. Team with citizen instructors to continue conducting safety courses for members of the community.


  1. Promote joint safety presentations to community groups via social media web sites.

Q2 - 2021




Q1 - 2021






Community Relations

CR-4. Establish & Promote Community Programs to  Increase Law Enforcement Visibility in the Community

Develop and execute programs that bring law enforcement officers and citizens together in forums where they talk to one another, share thoughts, and promote interactions which support the building of positive relationships. 

Further promote the Department of Homeland Security’s CRASE training (Citizen Response to Active Shooter Event) and Stop the Bleed training (an emergency medical response training for catastrophic injuries) 

  1. Continue “CRASE” & “Stop the Bleed” training to county-wide municipalities.


  1. Create new interactive programs:

  1. “Stop and Talk” program for officers to interact personally with citizen groups

  2. “Coffee with the Chief” monthly social hour or gatherings for faith-based groups and community action groups to interact with the PPPD OIC


.


Q3 - 2021




Q1 - 2021




Q1 - 2021




















Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Operational Policies & Procedures


OPR-1. Improve Selection & Promotion Methods by Requiring Candidates to Meet Additional Standards

Require candidates to meet additional criteria to help ensure a higher quality pool of candidates for new-hires, lateral transfers, and promotions.

  1. Enhance selection methods for new-hire, lateral transfers, and supervisor promotions:

  1. Require a standardized comprehensive background investigation in accordance with LEAP standards.

  2. Seek funding for a psychological exam for all new hires & supervisor candidates.

  3. Seek Funding for a polygraph exam for all new hires

Q2 - 2021






Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-2. Initiate Anonymous Quality Assurance Feedback Channels 

Allow citizens & officers to submit feedback via website and social media to reduce the incidence of unsatisfactory or unlawful behavior.


  1. Establish a process for citizens and/or officers to leverage social media and the department website to anonymously notify department officials of unsatisfactory or unlawful behavior of personnel.


Q3 - 2021






Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-3. Pursue NYS DCJS Law Enforcement Accreditation (LEAP)

Assess current policy and procedures to determine areas of non-compliance in order to meet NYS DCJS Law Enforcement Accreditation standards.  

  1. Conduct a comprehensive review of current PPPD policies against these state level standards to identify gaps and pursue NYS accreditation.




Q4 - 2023





Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-4. Pursue NYS DCJS SWAT Accreditation 


Expand existing SWAT team to include members from police agencies in Steuben County to meet standards for DCJS SWAT Accreditation. SWAT Team is a higher level of training and performance to specifically deal with high risk search warrants (no-knock warrants), hostage situations, barricaded subjects, etc. to reduce the possibility of injury to officers

and the public.

  1. To provide assistance to the SCSO SWAT team from the Painted Post Police Department

Q1 - 2021






Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-5. Improve Collaboration with Mental Health Agencies

Expand Crisis Intervention Training (40 hr. instruction by NYS office of Mental Hygiene).

Partner with Steuben County Mental Health to increase field use of mobile crisis unit.

Partner with county medical providers for mental health  transitional treatment and expanded use of tele-medicine providers in the mental health arena. 

  1. Work with Steuben County Mental Health to establish protocols for expanded use of mobile crisis unit.


  1. Collaborate with area providers for mental health tele-medicine (Guthrie, Arnot, and University of Rochester)


  1. Collaborate with Steuben County Mental Health to conduct crisis intervention training.


Q4 - 2021




Q1 - 2022




Q4 - 2022






Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-6. Improve Awareness of Mental Health Challenges of Deputies & Officers

Expand peer counseling program and create emotional survival for law enforcement program for deputies, officers, and families.

  1. Train additional peer counselors


  1. Establish an annual family training session outlining how to recognize stress and teach effective strategies for managing stress.

Q1 - 2024


Q1 - 2024

Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-7. Implement Body Camera/ In Car Camera Program


To implement a Body Camera/In Car Camera Program for all officers and vehicles to assist with liability and evidence while performing their job duties.

1.   Seek funding to implement a Body     

      Camera/In Car Camera Program         for all officers and vehicles within the 

      Painted Post Police Department.

Q1 - 2022

Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Training

T-1. Expand De-Escalation Training 


Review current de-escalation trainings and benchmark for additional  recommendations. 

  1. Conduct Train the Trainer sessions, to develop internal skilled presenters on de-escalation techniques


  1. Offer De-escalation training to all officers

Q4 - 2022




Q4 - 2022

Training 

T-2. Expand Use of Force Training

Review current training by defensive tactics instructor group for training recommendations.

  1. Benchmark and gather recommendations for improved Use of Force trainings.


  1. Provide annual defensive tactics training to county-wide agencies.

Q4 - 2022




Q4 - 2022






  1. APPENDIX


1-1

Table of Contents:



SECTION

PAGE NUMBERS

  1. Introduction

  1. Department Profile

  2. Municipality Demographics

  3. Agency Demographics


Pages 2 – 3

Page 2

Page 3

Page 3

  1. Reform & Reinvention Collaboration Process

  1. Collaborative Approach

  2. Opt-in Partners

  3. Team Leadership

  4. Process Implementation Approach & Timeline


Pages 3 – 5

Page 3

Page 4

Page 4

Page 5

  1. Public Participation & Feedback Channels

  1. Community Stakeholder Groups

  2. Listening Sessions

  3. Surveys


Page 5 - 7

Page 6

Page 6

Pages 6-7

  1. Painted Post Village Reform Plan

  1. New York State Mandates

  2. PPPD Reforms


Pages 8 - 19

Pages 8-11

Pages 12-19

  1. Appendix

Page 20




Executive Order No. 203

New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan


January 2021




  1. INTRODUCTION:


On June 12, 2020, Governor A. Cuomo issued an executive order directing municipalities that employ police officers to actively engage stakeholders in the local community and develop locally approved plans for the strategies, policies and procedures of local police agencies.  In accordance with this order, the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Cities of Corning and Hornell, Villages of Addison, Bath, Canisteo, Hammondsport, Painted Post and Wayland, and the Town of Cohocton, entered a collaborative effort to move through a county-wide process to enact police reform plans. 



  1. Department Profile:



Municipality: Village of Painted Post

Law Enforcement Agency: Painted Post Police Department

Village of Painted Post’s Executive Officer: Ralph Foster, Mayor

Police Dept Officer In Charge: OIC Shawn M. Copp















  1. Municipality Demographics:


The Village of Painted Post is located in the Town of Erwin. The Painted Post Police Department is the local police agency and provides assistance to the full and part-time police agencies within the surrounding area.  The 2019 estimated Census data indicates that the Village population is 1,612 with 91.3% white, 3.7% Asian, and 2% spread out in unknown percentages across other races. The Median age is 41.5 years for every 100 people. The Median income for a household within the Village is $53,672. A total of 7.3% of the households are below the poverty level.


  1. Agency Demographics:


The Painted Post Village Police Department consists of 7 total employees.  The department consists of 1 Officer In Charge, 1 Full-Time Patrolman, 5 Part-Time Patrolman.  Of the employees within the department all 7 are white males. 


 

  1. REFORM & REINVENTION COLLABORATION PROCESS


  1. Collaborative Opt-in Approach:


The Village of Painted Post partnered with other villages, towns, and cities in Steuben County as a collaborative effort. Corning Incorporated, which is headquartered in Steuben County provided a resource to assist with program management and change management expertise. 


  1. Opt-in Agency Partners:


        • Steuben County Sheriff’s Office (32 towns)

        • Village of Addison

        • Village of Bath

        • Village of Canisteo

        • Town of Cohocton

        • City of Corning

        • Village of Hammondsport

        • City of Hornell

        • Village of Painted-Post

        • Village of Wayland




  1. Team Leadership:


  • Jim Allard, Steuben County Sheriff

  • Kyle Amidon, Canisteo Police Chief

  • Brooks Baker, Steuben County District Attorney

  • Mark Barnhart, Cohocton & Wayland Officer in Charge,

  • Bill Boland, Corning Mayor

  • Shawn Copp, Painted Post Officer in Charge

  • Jason Dininny, Hammondsport Officer in Charge

  • Chad Mullen, Bath Police Chief

  • Ted Murray, Hornell Police Chief

  • Mark Ryckman, Corning City Manager

  • Steve Sellard, Addison Officer in Charge

  • Jeff Spaulding, Corning Police Chief

  • Jack K. Wheeler, Steuben County Manager

  • Dawn White, Corning Incorporated Program Manager


  1. Process Implementation Approach & Timeline


 



  1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION & FEEDBACK CHANNELS


  1. Community Team Members: (106 key stakeholder participants across 60 organizations; See Appendix 1-1)


  • Steuben County Law Officials

  • Steuben County Elected & Appointed Officials

  • Representatives from Steuben County Nonprofit Organizations, Healthcare Organizations, Educational Institutions, and Businesses

  • Citizens who represent marginalized populations

  1. Listening Sessions:


  • Conducted 9/9- 9/17 via Zoom and were advertised via the local news channels, newspapers, websites, and social media with an estimated 300+ participants

  • 3 Public Listening Sessions were open to all Steuben County citizens

  • 10 Private listening sessions were held with these special audiences:

      • Community Stakeholder Participant groups, Substance Use Disorders, Corning Community College students, Corning Black Employee Network, SPECTRA LGBTQ group, Global Latino Community, Friendship Baptist Church, Face to Faith Ministries, Steuben Greens, LGBTQ+ Community



  1. Surveys: (anonymous participation for all)


  • Stakeholder Group Participant Survey:

  • 15 survey questions and 4 demographic data questions sent out via email

  • Target audience of 103 stakeholders; 83 participants for an 81% response rate

  • Meeting held with participants to review the results



  • General Public Survey:

  • 15 survey questions and 4 demographic data questions; Notifications shared via news channels, newspapers, websites, and social media from 8/12 – 8/22

  • Printed copies dropped off at various locations and collected by city & law enforcement personnel for manual entry

  • Target audience of 95,000 county residents; 1,766 participants for a 1.8% response rate

  • Results posted for public viewing


  • Police Officer Survey:

  • 6 survey questions, and 1 demographic question to identify their police department disseminated via email and printed copies

  • Target audience of 100 police officers; 52 participants for a 52% response rate

  • Results posted for public viewing





  • Arrested Persons Questionnaire

  • 3 survey questions and 3 demographic data questions asked during booking about the professionalism of the arresting officer(s). Agencies in Steuben County participated during September 2020.

  • 55 participants



  1. PAINTED POST POLICE DEPARTMENT REFORM PLAN


The reform plan, in accordance with public feedback and the executive order requirements, consists of six primary themes:

NYS Mandated Changes, Equality and Social Justice, Transparency and Accountability, Community Relations, Operational Policy & Procedures and Training.


  1. NEW YORK STATE MANDATES:


The reform items found in this section are derived directly from the Executive Order No. 203


NY State Mandated Changes 

Reform Item

Description

PPPD Action  

Status

NYS Mandate - 1

NYSM – 1. 

Civil Penalties for Filing False Reports on Member of a Protected Class

Establishes civil penalties for falsely Summoning a Police Officer when there is no reason to believe a crime, offense or threat has been committed involving a member of a protected class. (Effective June 13, 2020)


Conducted in-service training

Complete






NYS Mandate - 2

NYSM – 2. 

Require Police

Officers to Report

the Discharge of

Weapons

Requires a police officer or peace officer

(whether on or off duty) who discharges

his or her weapon under circumstances

where a person could be struck by a

bullet to verbally report the incident

within six hours, and file a written report

within forty-eight hours. (Effective September 13, 2020)

Amended Use of Force policy

Complete








NY State Mandated Changes 

Reform Item

Description

PPPD Action  

Status

NYS Mandate - 3

NYSM – 3. 

Require the Reporting of Police Acts or Omissions

Resulting in a Person’s Death to the Office of Special Investigation

Establishes an Office of Special Investigation within the Office of Attorney General which will have investigative authority and criminal jurisdiction for any incident involving the death of a person caused by an act or omission by a police officer or a peace officer employed as a correction officer or contracted by an education, public health, social service, parks or housing agency. Where an investigation concludes that the death or matters relating to the death or investigation of the death involved criminal conduct, the Office will be empowered to prosecute any such alleged offenses. (Effective April 2021)


Will conduct in-service training and establish communication method with the Attorney General’s office.

Pending 

on needed actions of NYS






NYS Mandate - 4

NYSM – 4.

Ban Choke Holds

The Eric Garner Anti Choke Hold Act 

creates the crime of aggravated

strangulation (making it a Class C felony)

and establishes criminal penalties for a

police officer or peace officer who uses a

chokehold that causes serious physical

injury or death. (Effective June 12, 2020)

Conducted in-service training

Complete






NYS Mandate - 5

NYSM – 5.

Require Medical Response for Arrestees 


Affirms an individual’s right to medical and mental health attention while under arrest or otherwise in custody of a police officer or peace officer. Failure to provide reasonable and good faith medical assistance could result in a cause of action against the officer, representative and/or entity. (June 15, 2020)

Conducted in-service training

Complete






NY State Mandated Changes 

Reform Item

Description

PPPD Action  

Status

NYS Mandate - 6

NYSM – 6. 

Require Policing

Statistics to be

Reported to the

Division of Criminal Justice Services

Requires courts to compile and

publish data concerning arrests and court proceedings involving low-level offenses

such as violations and traffic offenses.

Such report will include aggregate and

anonymized demographic information

such as race, ethnicity and sex. This bill

requires police departments to submit

annual reports on arrest-related deaths

to the Department of Criminal Justice

Services, as well as the Governor and the

State Legislature. (Effective

December 12, 2020)

Will provide data to Office of Court Administration and Division of Criminal Justice Services

Q1 - 2021






NYS Mandate - 7

NYSM – 7. 

Recording

of Law Enforcement

Activity

Provides that a person not under arrest

or in the custody of a law enforcement

official has the right to record police

activity and to maintain custody and

control of that recording and of any

property or instruments used by that

person to record such activities. A person

in custody or under arrest does not, by

that status alone, forfeit such right to

record. (Effective July 13, 2020)


No actions needed, already in compliance

Complete













NY State Mandated Changes 

Reform Item

Description

PPPD  Action  

Status

NYS Mandate - 8

NYSM – 8.

Provide the Public

Access to Personnel Records of Officers

Repeal of Civil Rights Law 50-a, which had made all personnel records used to evaluate

the performance toward continued

employment or promotion of police

officers, firefighters, paramedics,

correction officers or peace officers

confidential and not subject to inspection

or review without the individual’s express

written consent or a court order. This

legislation also amends the New York

State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL),

subjecting any record created in

furtherance of a law enforcement

disciplinary proceeding to disclosure

under FOIL. The new FOIL provisions

require specific sensitive personal

information, including medical history, to

be redacted from such records prior to

being disclosed. (Effective June 13, 2020)

Notified the clerk  for compliance.

Complete














  1. PAINTED POST POLICE DEPARTMENT REFORMS


Items found in this section were identified based on the feedback collected from the listening sessions and surveys. 


Category

Reform Item

Description

PPPD Actions

Completion Timeline

Equality & Social Justice

ESJ-1. Diversify & Increase Candidate Recruitment Pools

Take proactive steps to increase diversity of the candidate pools so newly hired officers better reflect community demographics.

Encourage potential candidates to take advantage of preparatory law enforcement training. (non-weapon portions of the police academy curriculum) 

  1. Conduct outreach with faith-based groups to increase interaction with youth and potential employees


  1. Increase Social Media Advertisement to attract diverse candidates and raise awareness of:

    1. Available positions

    2. Civil service requirements

    3. Availability of pre-employment police academies


  1. Partner with the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office Protocol




Q1 - 2021




Q4 – 2021








Q1-2021






Equality & Social Justice

ESJ-2. Provide Civil Service Test Training 

Provide Civil Service test training to prepare applicants for the entry-level examination. Partner with SUNY Corning & Alfred  to offer this assistance.

  1. Partner with SUNY to develop & offer a tutoring course for candidates expressing interest in applying/testing for the Civil Service exam.


2.    Partner with the Steuben County   

        Sheriff’s Office Protocol

Q4 – 2021





Q1-2021











Equality & Social Justice

ESJ-3. Expand Diversity and Bias Awareness Training 

Expand diversity and bias awareness training to include marginalized populations such as Low Income, Substance Use Disorders, Minority, and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as training to recognize systemic racism.

  1. Require Implicit Bias Awareness Training for all officers


  1. Conduct Train the Trainer sessions, to develop internal skilled presenters on implicit bias awareness training to support county-wide efforts


  1. Partner with the Steuben County

       Sheriff’s Office for training

Q4 - 2021



Q2 – 2022





Q1-2021




Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Transparency & Accountability 

TA-1. Launch a Personnel Complaint Review Panel


Launch external panel to review personnel complaints, investigations, and adjudications to ensure that best practices in personnel actions are being followed. Panel will include professionals with working knowledge of human resources, civil service, and  labor relations.

  1. Benchmark best practices of personnel complaint review panels across the country.


  1. Establish a personnel complaint review process


  1. Partner with the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office Protocol

Q4 - 2022




Q4 – 2023



Q1-2021






Transparency & Accountability

TA-2. Increase Transparency of Arrest Activities & Calls for service

Ensure citizens have access to appropriate police data & arrest activities via a monthly report provided at the monthly Village Board Meeting and placed on the Village of Painted Post website. 

  1. Publish these monthly reports:

  1. Calls for service, cases and arrests, and use of force incidents

  2. Arrests by sex and race.


Q1 - 2021













Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Transparency & Accountability

TA-3. Reduce Personnel Complaints & Adopt  a County-wide Reporting Method & Tracking


Identify key behaviors & causes that may drive citizens to complain about officers and incorporate these findings into trainings. 

Work to align agencies county-wide to adopt a standardized personnel complaint process. Develop a county-wide tracking system of complaints.

  1. Leverage field training officers to review complaints and determine needed focus areas & changes in trainings


  1. Establish a standardized personnel complaint process county-wide


  1. Develop a county-wide tracking system to assist in identifying training needs.

Q1 - 2021





Q1 - 2022



Q3 - 2022






Transparency & Accountability

TA-4. Increase transparency of Use of Force Incidents

& Personnel Complaints

Ensure better and timely citizen access to use of force data and personnel complaint incidents and outcomes.  Modify current PPPD software systems to better collect and track this data.

  1. Add annual report data fields in current system for:

  1. Use of Force (type & frequency)

  2. Personnel Complaints and adjudications

Q2 - 2021






Transparency & Accountability

TA-5. Publish Job Descriptions and Annual Performance Appraisal Process  


Make job descriptions and performance process more readily available to improve transparency. 

  1. Post job descriptions of Painted Post Police personnel (OIC and patrolman) and performance appraisal document on Village website.

Q1 - 2024




Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Community Relations

CR-1. Conduct Public Education on Policing Practices 

Increase the transparency of policing methods and governance by educating the public on these practices.

  1. Provide videos and brochures to share recommended actions for citizens when interacting with police.


  1. Enhance Citizen’s Police Academy with the SCSO

  1. Include in-person & on-line versions

  2. Partner with SUNY Alfred and Corning Community College to add a Citizen’s Police Academy on-line class offering .

Q1 - 2022




Q1 - 2023






Community Relations

CR-2. Strengthen Customer Service Practices

Reinforce need for positive communications through better customer service & professional development training.

Develop a quality assurance program to identify how citizens perceive the PPPD customer service. 

  1. Develop & conduct Professional Development training on communications for Supervisors



  1. Develop & conduct best practice communication trainings county-wide:

  1. Positive & effective customer service

  2. Best practices for general communications

Q1 - 2023





Q1 - 2024






Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Community Relations

CR-3. Strengthen Community Safety Training Programs 

Partner with volunteer  instructors to provide key safety trainings that are provided to residents or  community groups and improve offerings.  These trainings help enhance their safety knowledge and support better relations.


  1. Team with citizen instructors to continue conducting safety courses for members of the community.


  1. Promote joint safety presentations to community groups via social media web sites.

Q2 - 2021




Q1 - 2021






Community Relations

CR-4. Establish & Promote Community Programs to  Increase Law Enforcement Visibility in the Community

Develop and execute programs that bring law enforcement officers and citizens together in forums where they talk to one another, share thoughts, and promote interactions which support the building of positive relationships. 

Further promote the Department of Homeland Security’s CRASE training (Citizen Response to Active Shooter Event) and Stop the Bleed training (an emergency medical response training for catastrophic injuries) 

  1. Continue “CRASE” & “Stop the Bleed” training to county-wide municipalities.


  1. Create new interactive programs:

  1. “Stop and Talk” program for officers to interact personally with citizen groups

  2. “Coffee with the Chief” monthly social hour or gatherings for faith-based groups and community action groups to interact with the PPPD OIC


.


Q3 - 2021




Q1 - 2021




Q1 - 2021




















Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Operational Policies & Procedures


OPR-1. Improve Selection & Promotion Methods by Requiring Candidates to Meet Additional Standards

Require candidates to meet additional criteria to help ensure a higher quality pool of candidates for new-hires, lateral transfers, and promotions.

  1. Enhance selection methods for new-hire, lateral transfers, and supervisor promotions:

  1. Require a standardized comprehensive background investigation in accordance with LEAP standards.

  2. Seek funding for a psychological exam for all new hires & supervisor candidates.

  3. Seek Funding for a polygraph exam for all new hires

Q2 - 2021






Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-2. Initiate Anonymous Quality Assurance Feedback Channels 

Allow citizens & officers to submit feedback via website and social media to reduce the incidence of unsatisfactory or unlawful behavior.


  1. Establish a process for citizens and/or officers to leverage social media and the department website to anonymously notify department officials of unsatisfactory or unlawful behavior of personnel.


Q3 - 2021






Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-3. Pursue NYS DCJS Law Enforcement Accreditation (LEAP)

Assess current policy and procedures to determine areas of non-compliance in order to meet NYS DCJS Law Enforcement Accreditation standards.  

  1. Conduct a comprehensive review of current PPPD policies against these state level standards to identify gaps and pursue NYS accreditation.




Q4 - 2023





Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-4. Pursue NYS DCJS SWAT Accreditation 


Expand existing SWAT team to include members from police agencies in Steuben County to meet standards for DCJS SWAT Accreditation. SWAT Team is a higher level of training and performance to specifically deal with high risk search warrants (no-knock warrants), hostage situations, barricaded subjects, etc. to reduce the possibility of injury to officers

and the public.

  1. To provide assistance to the SCSO SWAT team from the Painted Post Police Department

Q1 - 2021






Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-5. Improve Collaboration with Mental Health Agencies

Expand Crisis Intervention Training (40 hr. instruction by NYS office of Mental Hygiene).

Partner with Steuben County Mental Health to increase field use of mobile crisis unit.

Partner with county medical providers for mental health  transitional treatment and expanded use of tele-medicine providers in the mental health arena. 

  1. Work with Steuben County Mental Health to establish protocols for expanded use of mobile crisis unit.


  1. Collaborate with area providers for mental health tele-medicine (Guthrie, Arnot, and University of Rochester)


  1. Collaborate with Steuben County Mental Health to conduct crisis intervention training.


Q4 - 2021




Q1 - 2022




Q4 - 2022






Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-6. Improve Awareness of Mental Health Challenges of Deputies & Officers

Expand peer counseling program and create emotional survival for law enforcement program for deputies, officers, and families.

  1. Train additional peer counselors


  1. Establish an annual family training session outlining how to recognize stress and teach effective strategies for managing stress.

Q1 - 2024


Q1 - 2024

Operational Policies & Procedures

OPR-7. Implement Body Camera/ In Car Camera Program


To implement a Body Camera/In Car Camera Program for all officers and vehicles to assist with liability and evidence while performing their job duties.

1.   Seek funding to implement a Body     

      Camera/In Car Camera Program         for all officers and vehicles within the 

      Painted Post Police Department.

Q1 - 2022

Category

Reform Item

Description

Reform Action

Completion Timeline

Training

T-1. Expand De-Escalation Training 


Review current de-escalation trainings and benchmark for additional  recommendations. 

  1. Conduct Train the Trainer sessions, to develop internal skilled presenters on de-escalation techniques


  1. Offer De-escalation training to all officers

Q4 - 2022




Q4 - 2022

Training 

T-2. Expand Use of Force Training

Review current training by defensive tactics instructor group for training recommendations.

  1. Benchmark and gather recommendations for improved Use of Force trainings.


  1. Provide annual defensive tactics training to county-wide agencies.

Q4 - 2022




Q4 - 2022






  1. APPENDIX