The Town of Stillwater Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Group has completed the Police Reform and Reinvention Plan to be submitted to NYS for approval. Please download the PDF file to review.
Comments may be submitted to the following: Paul.Pecor@stillwaterny.org or John.Nett@stillwaterny.org
On June 12th of this year, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 203, entitled “New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative”.
The Town of Stillwater Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Group met for the second time on February 8 at the Stillwater Area Community Center.
The Collaborative Group consists of:
- Sergeant Paul Pecor, Co-Chairperson & Chief of Police
- John Nett, Co-Chairperson & Commissioner
- Ray Cordani, Commissioner
- Jennifer Weaver, Commissioner
- Justin Macfarlane, Administrator, SACC
- Ed Kinowski, Stillwater Town Supervisor
- Judy Wood-Shaw, Stillwater Village Mayor
- Karen Heggen, Saratoga County DA
- Sara Kipp, Director, Stillwater Public Library
- Fr. Pat Rice, Pastor, All Saints on the Hudson Church
- Frank Tatum, Community Representative
- Jimel Williams, Community Representative
The Collaborative Group posted a survey on the Town of Stillwater Facebook & Police Facebook, the town and village websites, the SACC website, Stillwater Library website and The Express Newspaper asking town and village residents and any other interested individuals to provide their input of how they feel the Stillwater Police Department performs their duties and interacts with the public. The survey questions were designed to ask the public to identify the most pressing concerns regarding public safety, inclusion, interaction and professionalism of the department. The goal is to identify the strengths of the department as well as opportunities for improvement relative to inclusiveness, racial disparity, dealing with mental health issues and many more.
The Collaborative Group expressed their appreciation that 111 persons responded to this survey.
The survey results shown are the top concerns identified by respondents in order of importance.
- Drug abuse e.g., manufacture, sale, or use of illegal/prescription drugs
- Traffic issues / residential speeding
- Driving under the influence (i.e., alcohol or drugs)
- Domestic violence (adult)
- School safety (e.g., bullying, fighting, or weapons)
The group also was informed that the Stillwater Police Department and Police Commission have been actively reviewing and updating policies and have self-identified several areas that require additional policies and action that address racial diversity, mental health issues and others requiring additional training and transparency with the public.
Moving forward, the Collaborative Group will draft a plan, according to the guidelines identified in the Governors Executive Order 203, post for comment and submit to the state before April 1, 2021.