ONONDAGA COUNTY LEGISLATURE ADOPTS POLICE REFORM PLAN
Today, Republican legislators had an opportunity to publicly support Onondaga County’s Police Reform plan. A June 2020 Executive Order by Governor Cuomo mandated all police agencies in New York State, with the exception of the State Troopers, adopt police reforms to address the concerns that are facing communities across the nation.
District Attorney Fitzpatrick took the lead in this initiative to encourage a unified, consistent plan that could be adopted by all agencies in Onondaga County. Public participation and input drove this process where seven themes were established: Community Trust, Police Demeanor, Brutality, and Profiling, Mental Health/Alternatives to Police, Police Organization and Structure, Systemic Racism and Poverty, Schools and Youth, and Recruitment and Training. The final plan outlines solutions and suggestions for each theme. In some specific cases, the plan cites examples of programs or policies that are working across the country. Under the leadership of Sheriff Conway’s administration, many of the suggestions in this plan are already being implemented by the Onondaga County Sheriff’s office, as it continues its years-long pursuit of national accreditation, a distinction that less than 5% of police agencies have achieved in New York State. Also known as CALEA (Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), the Sheriff’s office has been focused on meeting performance standards in areas such as bias, diversity, non-lethal use of force, and many other important policing criterion.
Adopted unanimously, this plan, will guide policing initiatives, training and investments in Onondaga County. Per the Executive Order, the Common Council and each Village or Town that has a local police agency will need to adopt a plan by April 1 to ensure they will not affect their state aid allocations.
Following the special legislative session, Chairman David Knapp said, “We commend and thank the authors and contributors of this Plan. The respect, collaboration and effort put forth in this initiative speaks to the quality of life and public safety our community wants for itself. We are very proud of this result.”
The Onondaga County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative is available to review at https://policereform.ongov.net/final-draft-plan/