Rochester Reporter

Greece Town issued the following announcement on Dec 29.

Supervisor Reilich and the Greece Town Board invite the residents of Greece to participate in the State Mandated Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Survey. The survey will be available to Greece residents beginning January 2nd until January 16th to receive input from our residents. The survey idea was launched as a way to open the process at a time when groups and gatherings are still being prohibited due to COVID restrictions.

Some background information for our residents: 

On August 17, 2020, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed an Executive Order – the ‘New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative’ which required local police agencies to develop a plan that reinvents and modernizes police strategies and programs in their community based on community input. Each police agency’s reform plan must address policies, procedures, practices and deployment, including, but not limited to, use of force.

Each local government must convene stakeholders for a fact-based and honest dialogue about the needs of their community. The charge of each local committee is:

• Review the needs of the community served by its police agency;
• Evaluate the police agency’s current policies and practices;
• Establish policies or recommend adjustments to current policies that allow police to effectively and safely perform their duties;
• Develop policy recommendations resulting from this review;
• Offer a plan for public comment;
• Present the plan to the local legislative body to ratify or adopt it, and;
• Certify adoption of the plan to the State Budget Director on or before April 1, 2021.

In September, The Town of Greece formed a Police Reform and Reinvention Committee to perform the above duties. This Committee is comprised of members and leaders of the Greece Police, members of the community, members of the non-profit and faith-based community, the local office of the district attorney, the local public defender, and local elected officials.

The Town of Greece Police Reform and Reinvention Committee will meet regularly through March 2021. During these meetings, the Committee will identify top policing concerns in the Town of Greece, review policies and procedures associated with those concerns, and hear from community members and professionals about policing in the Town of Greece. The information received as a result of the surveys will assist this group in addressing any areas of concern as they work to formulate a plan for submission.

“I have appointed Jason Helfer to serve as our Liaison. Jason will be charged with collecting and sharing information as is gathered from the survey, mediate overall discussions at the meetings and work with the Town Board team throughout the process. He will be the point of contact for the Town of Greece” said Supervisor Reilich.

The survey can be reached via https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9CB5B57 . Please note that the identity of respondents will be kept confidential, however the information and responses of course will be shared with the entire committee so they can use it as a basis for consideration. 

Original source can be found here.