Westchester County Department of Public Safety

See article: Law enforcement in Westchester County

The Westchester County Department of Public Safety was created in 1979 by merging the Westchester County Sheriff's Office with the Westchester County Parkway Police.

The current Commissioner/Sheriff is George Longworth.[1]

The department provides primary police coverage for county parks, parkways and facilities. It is the third largest law enforcement agency in Westchester County after the Department of Corrections[2] and the City of Yonkers Police.[3]

Contents

Organization

Units and Divisions

Patrol Services Division

The Patrol services Division's uniformed officers patrol the county’s parkways, parks and public buildings. Patrol officers also assist Westchester county’s municipal police agencies in a variety of ways, including during motor vehicle stops and searches for fleeing suspects, emergency crowd control and at DWI checkpoints and other targeted enforcement. The PSD includes Breath Test Operators and Drug Recognition Experts (used to process arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs), and Accident Investigators and Accident Reconstructionists. The PSD provides police and security services for the 512-acre (2.07 km2) Westchester County campus (Grasslands Reservation) in Valhalla is home to the:Westchester Medical Center, County Jail, New York Medical College, Woodfield Cottage Juvenile Detention Center, Westchester County Police Academy, County Fire Training Center, and others. The PSD also patrols the main campus of Westchester Community College (WCC) in Greenburgh while working with campus security. The PSD patrols the 18,000 acres (73 km2) Westchester County Parks system which consists of more than 50 parks, nature centers, hiking and biking trails, six commercial pools, three beaches and Rye Playland, the only government-owned-and-operated amusement park in the country.

Investigative Services

Investigative Services Division - Detectives in a variety of units within the ISD provide specialized assistance upon request to municipal police agencies for problematic, large-scale or complex investigations.

Special Operations Division

The Special Operations Division[4] (SOD) comprises a number of highly specialized units that work alongside the Patrol Services and Investigative Services Divisions to support the primary mission of the Department of Public Safety. In addition, all units within SOD are called upon frequently to assist local law-enforcement agencies in the county.

Others

Civil Unit - The Civil Unit is responsible for the service and execution of civil orders, judgments and mandates from the state Supreme Court, the County Court and local courts within Westchester County. The Civil Unit also serves as the enforcement arm for other state and federal jurisdictions where service is required within Westchester County.

The Civil Unit processes the following actions for the public and legal community: Income and property executions, Service and enforcement of family court process, Service of summonses, complaints, subpoenas and petitions; the execution and enforcement of court orders, Civil arrests, Evictions, and the enforcement of Orders of Seizure and Attachment.

Office of Stop-DWI and Drug Prevention - works closely with municipalities in Westchester to minimize alcohol and drug abuse and reduce related injuries and traffic fatalities. The STOP-DWI program’s Patrol Project coordinates joint enforcement activities and reimburses municipalities for added DWI patrols and sobriety checkpoints. The STOP-DWI program also supports and funds the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing training given to police recruits and veteran officers from departments around the county. The office is also involved in numerous public education initiatives in Westchester communities that teach middle school, high school and college students about the hazards of alcohol and drugs. A driving simulator is brought to local high schools to give students hands-on proof that a motor vehicle cannot be operated safely when a driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And Operation Safe Prom is a partnership between the county and local communities to reduce the number of alcohol-related incidents during prom season.

Office of Professional Responsibility and Special Investigations - Responsible for investigating civilian complaints as well as allegations of criminal or other serious misconduct in any county agency. OPRSIU is available to conduct such investigations for municipalities when there is the appearance of a conflict of interest and outside investigators are desired.

Public Safety Emergency Force - A specialized unit composed of part-time Deputy Sheriffs who are duly sworn peace officers and possess those powers to carry out their duties. The PSEF provides assistance, upon request, to town, village and city police departments with regard to traffic and crowd control at special events such as parades, street fairs, fireworks celebrations, DWI checkpoints, and natural disasters.

Proposal to Merge the Departments of Public Safety and Emergency Services

On Wednesday, 4 August 2010, County Executive Robert P. Astorino released his plan to merge the county departments of Public Safety and Emergency Services "which increases efficiency, lowers costs and positions Westchester County to meet the public safety challenges it faces today and in years to come," Astorino said. "The consolidation will save about $700,000 next year and double that by 2013 by reducing duplication.".[5]

See also

New York portal
Law enforcement/Law enforcement topics portal

References

External links