Saturday, December 01, 2007

SHOULD THE DARE PROGRAM BE DISCONTINUED?

Yesterday, Police Chief Kapica suggested that one of the cuts that could be made would be to eliminate the DARE program. Some studies have found that DARE is not very effective. What do you think? Should this be one of the cuts the Town Board makes?

Police boss says no to DARE in Long Island's Suffolk County

The Associated Press

November 30, 2007

Suffolk County's police department is dropping DARE, the widespread school
anti-drug program that has faced questions about its effectiveness, the
police commissioner said.

Commissioner Richard Dormer said Thursday he aimed to replace DARE with
another drug-prevention program, but some local lawmakers objected to the
idea.

With the change, set to take effect in January, the large Long Island
county's police force will join a series of school districts and law
enforcement agencies that have abandoned the program, formally known as Drug
Abuse Resistance Education. Schools and police forces work together to offer
it.

After nearly 20 years in Suffolk County, DARE isn't working, Dormer told
local lawmakers Thursday. The program's 26 police officers teach fifth- and
seventh-graders about the dangers of drugs, spending an hour a week in a
given classroom for 10 weeks.

Students 'are tuning us out, and that's why we haven't reduced drug use in
our society,' Dormer told the County Legislature's Public Safety Committee.

Instead of DARE, Dormer wants to add police participation to HealthSmart, a
general health and safety program now taught in various school districts. He
plans to assign 10 of the current DARE officers to the new program.

Three Republican lawmakers said students would be shortchanged by Dormer's
plan.

'Please tell me how less is better,' said Legislator Lynne Nowick, of St.
James.

Launched in Los Angeles in 1983, DARE is offered in 75 percent of the
nation's school districts, according to the organization.

But a 2003 U.S. Government Accountability Office analysis of several studies
concluded DARE had 'no statistically significant long-term effect on
preventing illicit drug use.'

The national DARE organization disputes the studies and says the program has
changed to become more effective. DARE representatives did not immediately
return a telephone message left early Friday at their Inglewood, Calif.,
headquarters.

Suffolk County, on eastern Long Island, has a population estimated at more
than 1.4 million.

83 comments:

Anonymous said...

cut dare and other non essential programs in the pd.

do not cut police jobs.
that means no cops
that means no ambulance.. do people realize that cops also do staff the ems units?
they are emts and medics and first responders
residents will not get the quality service they deserve..and will not get adequate police/ems services.

Anonymous said...

you do not need DARE!! and we don't need police officers driving ambulaces, when you can have civilian medics and EMT's for 1/2 the price. Check this out for yourself. The Chief knows this already

Anonymous said...

I'm more interested in knowing more about this that was posted on the '5% cut" topic:

The 10K for the DARE program isn't going to really solve the tax hike but since it's come up, I'd like to address it.

IMO, the DARE program has had a positive impact of both of my children. Not sure how it can be taught in the home unless parents attend classes on what to teach their kids. Honestly, I though I was pretty well informed in this area yet my kids came home with information I wasn't aware of. Is it expendable? Sure, just like anything else.

That said, I would like to add that there is money given to Edgemont Rec each year by TOG Parks & Rec. Edgemont Rec. donates money to both the EDGMT SD and the Scarsdale Teen Center. Also, I believe Bass assisted in getting Edgemont Rec grant money as well and that money went to Scarsdale Teen center to fund a partnership for Edgemont teens to thwart drug and alcohol use. GC kids need not apply. Maybe ,if invited, you can be a guest, as long as you sign a waiver and don't stay too long. Maybe.

So, before ya all go talking about saving 10K in the one and only drug prevention program the rest of GC kids have, I'd like an explanation on the above.

Anonymous said...

I think we should cut all summer camps. That is a luxury. At least decrease -- maybe 3-4 dys per week.

Anonymous said...

The fire departments also have EMTS,the only thing that the fire dept. does not do is ambulance service.
Leave that part of the job to the fire dept. and get civilian personel to drive the ambulance.

Anonymous said...

I think we should hear from parks and rec. That is where the real waste is.

Anonymous said...

I would like to understand from Feiner how he has said that the Westhelp money should be paid to Valhalla and that it is NOT in the A budget as an expenditure. Is that why teh A budget needs such a large reserve? So when his two teammates come in January, that can be paid?

Anonymous said...

If you have firefighters run the ambulance we will have some of the same problems that the villages have with their volunteer departments waiting, waitying. Would you rather have a professional police emt show up in less than 5 minutes or wait who knows how long for a lack luster crew? The chief is saving a lot of money with the dual purpose police EMTs.

Anonymous said...

There is absolutely no reason why the Fire Departments (Fairview, Hartsdale and Greenville) cannot run the ambulance services for the TOV. Their paid professionals are on the job 24/7/365.
Sorry Villagers - if you think waiting for a volunteer ambulance takes too long - HIRE someone.

Anonymous said...

I think we should cut all summer camps. That is a luxury. At least decrease -- maybe 3-4 dys per week.

Oh please. The families pay for the camp. It's not free to them.

It's not like the pool will be closed if campers don't use it. The parks won't be sold , if the campers don't use them, the multipurpose center won't be torn down, if the camps don't use it.

So what exactly in the way of money do you think will be saved?

Honestly! Why is no one questioning that above post that claims Parks & Rec. is giving money to Edgemont Recreation?

It must be that the only posters here are from Edgemont because there is no other explanation other than complete stupidity and I'd "like" to think my fellows posters are of a greater mentality.

Anonymous said...

Parks and Rec doesn't "give" money to Edgemont. Parks and Rec contracts with an outside vendor (Edgemont Rec) to provide a summer camp program. It doesn't pay anywhere near the full cost - which is borne by the parents of the children enrolled - it provides a subsidy. The amount is far less than the cost of providing day camp for all TOV residents, including Edgemont, who are entitled to Town Parks and Rec services.
This is a win-win. The Town saves money by paying less for Edgemont kids to go to camp than it would cost the Town to include them in the other TOV camp. Both camps and kids benefit by having smaller programs and nearby facilities.
Now, if you want to do away with all camps, go ahead. Edgemont parents will probably bite the bullet and pay the full cost - the losers will almost certainly be the children served by the rest of the Town camp program.

Anonymous said...

Why is no one questioning the Town giving money to Edgemont Rec?

Why is no one questioning the Town giving money to the Union Baptist Church?

Why is no ond questioning the Town giving money to the Hartsdale Dad's Club.

Why is no one questioning the Town giving money to Sonja Brown for SAT prep classes?

The reason no one is questioning is that these are Town programs which are quality of life issues for residents. One woman's FRILL is another's QUALITY service.

Anonymous said...

Parks and recs has plenty of salaries that can be cut.

also, why are village teams allowed to play on b budget maintianed fields.

Anonymous said...

9:48 The proble that we have in Greenburgh is that the 3 paid departments dont cover the entire unincooperated portion of greenburgh. Some of the unincooperated residents live in the Elmsford, Tarrytown, Hastings, Ardsley fire districts. Would the Fairview, Hartsdale, and Greenville fire departments cover these areas for EMS. What types of certifications are necessary for these departments to become EMS transport agencies, what happens if there is a fire during a EMS run or vise versa. No simple answer. The police department has been doing EMS since it started in Greenburgh. It seems to work and be cost effective.

Anonymous said...

Dear 10:16 &10:20, (ASSuming you are the same person)

Yeah, sure …..FRILLS!!

Any youth living in Unincorporated Greenburgh is entitled to participate in all of the activities/programs you put forth in your post where town tax monies are budgeted for, except Edgemont Rec activities.

That alone is bothersome but the added travesty is that Edgemont donates money to both the Edgemont School District and the Scarsdale Teen Center.

So the way I see it, as an Unincorporated resident of Greenburgh residing within the GC SD boundaries, I'm paying for 3 services that our children can not participate in or take advantage of to better their quality of life. Yet ALL TOG youth services are available and open to any youth residing within the unincorporated area including Edgemont youth. Sure…… what’s yours is yours, what’s mine is yours and I’ll pay for yours you won’t pay for mine?

So, you’re right! If the DARE and camp programs, all and any park & rec services are cut, Edgemont will suck it up & foot the bill to continue its exclusive youth programs and only the non-Edgemont kids will be affected. You have no motivation to or interest in the overall quality of life for youths in the GC area. If anything, you have a clear motivation to see to it that all and any town wide youth programs be cut. You may loose the 30K you’ve received to “save TOG money” (what a hoot) and reduce your impeding tax hike by a fraction but this is certainly enough motivation for you to seek these youth programs cut. Edgemont youth programs will not be affected what so ever.

Sadly, we’ve set Edgemont up nicely for this unconscionable thing to happen by sanctioning this practice and in contributing town tax and grant money for this purpose.

If the shoe were on the other foot pal, you’d all be calling in the attorneys. In not convinced that I shouldn’t take a page out of Edgemont’s book and do the very same.

Outside vendor my A$$…….. If this weren’t so despicable it would be laughable.

Anonymous said...

Ok, so lets also cut out some of the Lois Bronz child care staff. Restrict children to TOV residents.

Anonymous said...

The dare program does not cut the rug.
This problem should be addressed at home.
How many students attended the dare program and are already on that stuff.
Get rid of the program.
It's a farce.
Parents spend some time with your children and explain to them what is going on in the streets of every state.
Dare has been going on for some time tell me how many children has it saved.

Anonymous said...

Of course the chief wants this program to continue but he never states how many children have died of an overdose or how many children are hooked.
Another problem is drinking,this too is a problem but no matter was is done this cannot be stopped,because parents will not waste time to talk to their children.
Why must taxpayers pay for the shortfall of parents.
We all take care of our and get better results,and save money.

Anonymous said...

I have a child that completed the Dare program 3 years ago. I found it created conversations that I as a prent may have overlooked. My child learned the importance of making good decisions in all aspects of life not only drugs and alcohol. In reading recent statistics I have seen that teen age smoking and drinking has been on the decrease. I would think that all types of education including dare has made a contribution for those numbers to go down. Maybe some should look at stats before making a comment on a topic that helps mold a childs mind to keep him or herself safe for the rest of there lives!

Anonymous said...

Dear 12:49 & 12:52,

Yes, YES! Why should we foot the bill for these lazy parents?

I say we should go back to home schooling, stop PSA's on AIDS, drunk driving, drugs, global warming, eating disorders, suicide and domestic violence and sexual abuse. I think we should remove the Amber Alert system, stop notifying families when sex offenders move into their neighborhood too. Heck,we should remove all security guards from the schools. Teach your damn kids how to behave cause I ain't paying to protect mine from yours!

And if you're out of a job, I shouldn't have to pay for food or shelter your your kids either. If your kid gets pregnant or sick and you can't pay for it, that bill I most certainly don't want to foot. DO YOUR JOB AS PARENT DAMN IT!

These lazy ass parents should be teaching their kids about these things in their home. Why should we pay for it? Do you know how much it COSTS? DO YOU?

Anonymous said...

DARE is a very nice program that corresponds well to the state's health-guidance curriculum, and it does help facilitate important dialogue.

While in the big picture it has been shown to be ineffective, school districts should have DARE as an option if they'd pay for the materials, as well as the officer's time in classrooms.

Really, though, I think the $10,000 isn't worth arguing much about. There are so many big-ticket items that could be cut more easily and justifiably from the town's budget without having to touch the DARE program or reorganize the police department's services in any way.

Anonymous said...

Cut the DARE program NOW!!!
put the DARE officer on patrol,
cut the housing police/community policing and all the other officers inside Headquarters and you can save money.
Any genius knows this!

Anonymous said...

To cut those programs in the police department would be of great disservice for all poeple living in Greenburgh. The mentioned 10k investment for all the kids impacted by the dare program cost pennies per kid for the information they recieve from the cops teaching it. I will also state that parents also converse with the dare officer for information and guidence being that new drugs are on the streat, and i am not on the streat or in the schools to guide my child with the many issues my child has learned from dare, Peer preasure, facts about alcohol drugs etc and the advice from a police officer with the many other topics my child learned about. Most housholds need 2 incomes to get by. sO THOSE SAYING THE PARENTS SHOULD DO THERE JOB, SHOULD UNDERSTAND THATS ITS NOT 1950 AND THE POLICE WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY AND SCHOOLS HELP GUIDE MY CHILD TO STAY AS CLOSE TO THE STRAIGHT LINE AS POSSABLE AND I ACCEPT THE HELP AND THANK THEM. The world is a much harder place to live in and i think the programs the police provide are of great value to the people of Greenburgh. I checked out some of the stats on dare, and they have improved in the past years.

Anonymous said...

I am astounded by the shear stupidly of this topic and those who spend their time vehemently calling to cut the DARE program.

I wish you people would use your time more effectively in solving the tax hike crisis.

Posing this question here is an attempt to divert away from the real issues at hand. There is no way in Hades that cutting this program will have anything but a possible negative effect while contributing nothing to the savings in taxes. This topic only severs to divert and give a forum to the crazies that have too much time on their hands.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and give you a profile on the “CUT THE DARE PROGRAM NOW” posters:

1) Single
2) Female
3) Ages 25-54
4) Lives in an apartment
5) Lobbies for more town pet services
6) Would gladly pay more taxes for #5
7) Hates kids/ doesn’t have them
8) Cannot find parking on East Hartsdale Ave.
9) Frequently Calls Paul and demands that he do something about #8
10) Parents still help support them
11) Holds everyone but themselves accountable for their problems
12) Average performance in the workplace
13) Generally unhappy


Is this you?

Anonymous said...

You forgot to mention the individual thought the Town running a dating service on the Internet was a terrific quality of life enhancement.

Anonymous said...

It appears that dare is an effective form of proactive policing as well as a education program to help keep children safe. Seems like a good idea to me! Suffolk seems to have issues where they try to justify the saleries of there emloyees, i believe the highest in thenation! lets use apples and apples here.

Anonymous said...

10k is really not that much money. And it opens up lines of communications between the police and children.

Anonymous said...

I am a parent of a DARE student. I am very involved in my child's daily life. Very rarely is my child alone. I thought I was educated in the DARE information. However, this spring a very scary thing happened to my child and if it were not for the DARE program and the DARE officer my child may not be here today. This program did save a child and it was mine. $10,000 is not much to pay for the life of a child. For those of you who say it does not benefit the Greenburgh Community you are ignorant of this program. Highly educated involved parents need the help of the police department to make them and their child aware of the new drugs that are on the street. "It takes a village to raise a child" We need to keep the DARE program to raise our children!

Anonymous said...

Dear 1:50,

I'm am very happy that you have shared your story here and that your child's well being was positively effected by the DARE program.

I'm sorry that that you have to defend your parenting skill and the program here, amongst these vicious, egocentric, bloggers.

Anonymous said...

it's more than $10.000 because the Dare officer makes 90,000 in salary alone.

Anonymous said...

does the dare officer do patrol as well? I have seen the car on my streat.

Anonymous said...

11:30 you are forgetting that the DARE officer is a regular gop doing regular police duties when they are not teaching. They dont only do dare. I also think 90,000 is a bit inflated.

Anonymous said...

wE KNOW THAT THE OFFICER IS A REGULAR COP BUT WE HAVE TO SAVE MONEY.tHIS PROGRAM HAS TO GO AND ANY OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE DUPLICATED IN SCHOOLS AS SPORTS SHOULD GO TOO.

Anonymous said...

Dear 1:50,

You have just been informed by 1:56 that your childs life is not worth 10K. What do you think about that?

Anonymous said...

One life being saved while tax payers have been paying taxes is not a good percentage.
How many have been lost did you ever check.
The program is being cut out of a lot of townships,because it was money wasted the problems exited and guess what they are still there.
Right now we need money,cutting and looking into the police dept.is only one of the choices.
Every dept. will be looked at with a fine comb.
The police is first because the chief asked for a 10,000 raise.His backups also want a raise.
The problem is we the residents do not have the money for these demands.

Anonymous said...

One life being saved while tax payers have been paying taxes is not a good percentage.
How many have been lost did you ever check.
The program is being cut out of a lot of townships,because it was money wasted the problems exited and guess what they are still there.
Right now we need money,cutting and looking into the police dept.is only one of the choices.
Every dept. will be looked at with a fine comb.
The police is first because the chief asked for a 10,000 raise.His backups also want a raise.
The problem is we the residents do not have the money for these demands.

Anonymous said...

Why dont we get rid of duplicationg math schience and social studies. Look at the program and see for yourself. Dont look at places that gave it up for policital reasons. And for the person who asked about the price of a childs health.. My friend you will never be able to make enough money in your life for the price of one breath of my child. KEEP THE PROGRAM IT ASSITS EVERYONE AND IS PRODUCTIVE!!!!

Anonymous said...

One life being saved while tax payers have been paying taxes is not a good percentage.
How many have been lost did you ever check.


lemme get this straight 3:56 & 3:56after I stop laughing myself silly......

What in your complete dimwittedness are you suggesting by this statement? That we should find out how many failures the programs has and somehow the number of failures diminishes the lives saved?

Please say it ain't so! You couldn't be brainless. I believe that you're a rotten heartless person but could you be this dumb?

Anonymous said...

LOLOLOL! I'm still laughing!!!!!!!

ok. Let's do away with the police department completely. All town-folk will take up arms for protection.

Very, very cost effective!!! So what if a few lives are lost. It's not like having a police department actually influences would be criminals towards going it straight. We'll leave that job up to the lazy parents.

You'll quickly see that it's much cheaper to just do away with the entire department! think about all of the taxes we'll save!!

Anonymous said...

The information that the dare program puts into a childs mind is not measurable by a survey. It brings familirarity to situations they have never come up against. And studies have shown that children have given into the peer presure because of not knowing what to do in the situation. if it helps my child survive in this everchanging world, 10k is nothing.

Anonymous said...

Everyone that posts that the Fire Departments should run EMS, get real! Have you ever looked at their salary’s? Much more than police salary’s! The Journal New has been trying to get that information for some time now. They have minimum manning requirements. If they ran EMS, they would have to hire additional personnel, do the math! What is already overpriced will get even higher!

Anonymous said...

Mr Feiner..... I hope You read in between the lines of the study Suff PD used to make its decision...the study was dated 2002.. its going to be 2008......so the studies i looked at in 15 mins of research found that the program has been updated and statistics have revealed a drop in cig use, marijuana use and alcohol use.. maybe we should look at things in depth before putting themout to hang. I see that the program they will be using was developed by suffulk county.. hmmmmmmm.. is that program proven? I also read that the new Dare program is about making smart decisions and helps prepare for peer preasure encounters, stress and many other things.. all in all as look more into this program they seemed to have seen a need for improvment,sothey made the changes based on studiesand from what i have read its working. I guess it would be fair to say the kids, families and community would be short changed if you dropped the program.

Anonymous said...

Makes no sense to send two police officers to the hospital with 1 patient in a ambulance, It takes at least 1 hour to get back in service, so there are 2 less cops on the road for patrol. It should be civilian medics and emt's for half the money.

Anonymous said...

Look at the Police dept's payroll,
detectives (Paramedics)make $90,000

Anonymous said...

i have read on some people making some nasty comments on the dare program.. I wnt to my daughters graduation last spring.. It sure seemed like those kids learned lots information.. the graduation opend my eyes to how much these kids really learned and how dedicated they were and how my child now has no problem asking me question about things on the news regarding drunk driving, drugs gangs and comercials regarding effects of tobacco reward for my daughters hard work and dedication. keep up the good work dare cops. now its up to me to reinforce what she learned .I hope there are more dare programs as she goes into middle and high school. Not sure if general publik can go to a graduation, but if they can you should check it out before u make a nasty comment. I too looked at the currnet data and i like what i see.

Anonymous said...

Get civilians to take over some of the positions at the police dept.
You don't need two policemen going to hospitals they just hang arround being paid for that time.
What do other towns that have ambulance services they do not have a police paramedic on board.they have a private citizen.
Yes we all look at this as a good service BUT at time goes on we have to look at ways to save money .
Yes we all at one time or another have used this service,but we pay dearly for it.

Anonymous said...

There are roughly 8600 taxed households.

10k/8600= $1.16

The naysayers here "should be" embarrassed.

I'll personally give you the $1.16 myself if you dare to come foward and identify yourselves.

Anonymous said...

There has been obviously a push by the civilian paramedics or their representatives to totally civilianize the Police Dept’s paramedic program and use this forum to make a point. The Police Officers who become Paramedics and only after reaching their 5th year of service, will receive an additional 10% over their base salary. Many times the Town of Greenburgh has had officers working for 3-5 years without receiving their 10% simply because they did not reach their 5th year of service. These officers are not only paramedics! They provide police services for a majority of their work shift! If you consider what a civilian paramedic gets paid plus benefits, it is certainly well over the 10% that a police officer makes when he/she becomes a paramedic

Anonymous said...

Paramedics should be civilians and not policemen
They become policemen to uphold the law .


s.

Anonymous said...

Having duel responsibilities is not uncommon in public safety. There are cost savings with doing that.

Anonymous said...

Dual responsibilities never work out you cannot serve two masters
at the same time .You cannot excell in both of them,one position has to suffer.
They take the job to uphold the law that and that alone should be done
If they want to be paramedics they should work in hospitals.
If they are satisfied with pushing a pencil they should go to a large corporation not the police dept.
They are in their position to serve the people and not to waste money that we do not have.
Civilians in many police headquarter positions will do fine. Did they ever hear of Temporary help?
Look we are out to save money for next year and years to come.
If we don't do this now we will be in more trouble the following years.

Anonymous said...

The DARE officer is NOT assigned to patrol. He just goes to the different schools in Town.

It's crazy to have police officers who should be on patrol, go off patrol to take patients to the hospital, most of the time 2
Why is it OK to have civilian medics work in the villages but in Town we have to have real cops!!! ?

Anonymous said...

What is turnover like when it comes to civiliam EMS?

Anonymous said...

How many schools do we have in town?
Could it be possible that a cop spends time going from school to school and we have to pay him a salary for diing this,
He probably has a patro; car to his disposal nice thats the way to go chief,every person is needed right.

Anonymous said...

Dear 4:55

I believe it's only 3 or 4. Edgemont, Woodlands, Sacred Heart & Solomon Schechter?

Anonymous said...

TO ALL MY JEWISH NEIGHBORS///////


HAPPY HANUKKAH

Anonymous said...

As far as civilian paramedic turnover, it’s quite often, compared to police paramedics who remain on the job for 20 plus years. For all of you that think civilians will save you money when it comes to paramedic services, do the math, a police officer gets 10% over his base salary when becoming a paramedic, lets say $7,000.00. I’m certain the civilian paramedic gets 45-55,000.00/year plus medical @ $12,000 per year and other paid benefits. And that’s the only service provided by the civilian.

Anonymous said...

For the one that posted that, “the police paramedics hang around the hospitals” know what you are talking about before posting something! If they are in the hospitals, they are re-stocking equipment as well as completing a Pre-Hospital Care Report. Care is needed when writing this report (one copy if left at the hospital) to eliminate mis-treatment issues which could potentially lead to a law suit against the town. You make it sound like they are there doing nothing at all ! That’s just not true.

Anonymous said...

Cheif, I am proud of how your department is being run. I have rec'd a ticket from one of your police officers and was impressed with how profesional he was. I also know of people who have been taken to the hospital from your emt service. nothing but rave reviews. The programs i have read about and asked about seem to be a form of pro-active policing. great job not many police departments are in the same ballpark as your department.. It seems crime is allways on the decline, the town should let the deptartment do what it has to do to keep the town safe, and not turn into a reactive police department where there are more victems!

Anonymous said...

there are a few schools in greenburgh- virginia st, hackley, sealy place, greenville, edgeomont hs, i think central 7 has (4 )schools, sacred heart, solomon schec, maria regina, ardsley mid, not sure if ther are anymore..

Anonymous said...

4:55---thats more than a few! I am tired of seeing the bashing of the Paramedics and other police programs. When skills increase the pay should follow. when my sales go up i go in for a raise!!!

Anonymous said...

The program is for 7th & 8th graders only thus limiting the amount of schools it is taught at.

Anonymous said...

my child also had dare in kinder and 5th grade..... and had some sessions in 3rd and 4th..

Anonymous said...

dear 10:15
really! wow. I had no idea they taught it so young. I think that's great!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes, my daughter had DARE in elemenatry school also. I think it is agreat opporutnity, like the basketball program, etc., for the police and our young people to get to know each other. Look at some areas in New Jersey, where the police cant even get witnesses to come forward. Building a relationship of mutual respect starts when people are young, and before they need each other. We all benefit from better police/youth relationships.

Anonymous said...

It's crazy to pay overtime to cops to have a basketball tournament when we have a rec dept. for that.

also nobody ever said the paramedics don't do anything at the hospital, all that was said is, they are off patrol for an hour restocking or doing reports.
If a paramedic does 4 calls in a 8hr shift he is off patrol for 4hrs.

Anonymous said...

The comment above this is what people are saying too much waste in the PD.
Time to take action chief.

Anonymous said...

In regards to "paramedic being off for 4 hours", again get the facts correct. Nobody is every off any time during a shift. They are still considered available to respond from any location to answer calls.

Anonymous said...

And yes, your comment that paramedics, “hang around” the hospitals sounds like you mean they are doing nothing. If you are going to post comments, have some insight into the topic!

Anonymous said...

Again! if they are at the Hospital doing paper work or restocking supplies they can NOT be on patrol at the same time.
How hard is it for you to understand ?????????

Anonymous said...

But they have radios and respond to calls!

Anonymous said...

The police have pal, basketball games etc for kids for many reasons. one othe reasons is they help solve crimes. The kids become more comofrtable with the cops and are able to converse look up too police which in turn gives the child confidance to talk to a cop. I think it has been very effective.. let me think....... AROUND THE WORLD. Dont Have such shallow thoughts

Anonymous said...

Are you saying that playing sports and other programs with the police make your child and other children stool pidgeons.
Wrong reason.

Anonymous said...

Can someone, who thinks the Police dept. does a good job, Please explain to me how it makes sense to Have 2 cops go to the hospital and not patrol, when you could have civilians go to the hospital for 1/2 the money and keep the cops on patrol. How about you Paul?
No other Police Dept. does it, Why should we?

Anonymous said...

Hey Town Board did you ever think about closing the Police dept all together ? We could contract out to the County Police and the State Police like The Town of Cortlant does. The only difference for those people up there, is they save alot of money and we don,t.

Anonymous said...

WHAT ABOUT PARKS AND REC?? WHY ARE THEY SACRED?

Anonymous said...

stool pidgeons??? keeping society safe? learning to tell the truth and feel good and safe doing it? wow. your lost in life . wish u the best. As for other things, it helps build self esteem, reason for parnets and child to do somthingtogether. Let the community and children interact with the police other thangetting a ticket. I feel sory for you. Buti do hope if you are ever a victem of a crime, that a stool pidgeon will come forth and help save the crime so u would have closer and the bad person will do time for the crime. Next time you answer maybe think your answer through.

Anonymous said...

"solve" the crime sorry for the typo

Anonymous said...

How much is the Police budget?
A blind can show you where to make cuts!
The police are never where you need them, They never give out tickets to people who steal shopping carts.
Stop them from training as firefighters and let them do ONLY police work. If that ever happens I'd be in shock. It's a DUPLICATION of service

Anonymous said...

I think we should

1. Cut salary by 10% anyone who makes over 150K

2. Cut salary by 5% anyone who makes over 125K

3. Freeze salary for anyone making over 100K

Anonymous said...

12/7/07 %:17, explain how civilian gets paid ½ the money of police paramedic. Please include their salary and benefits Compare that to a police officer getting an additional 10% over their base salary/ benefit, and performing a duel role compared to a civilian paramedic only performing that one function. Remember there are shifts when there are not to many medical calls, so what else does a civilian paramedic do during that time? I bet sleep in the ambulance!

Anonymous said...

We are only asking for major cuts in all departments this year.
By doing this the residents will see some reduction in taxes.
There are many people on fixed income that will not be able to see themselves paying this hike.
If we do get some cuts it will greatly help all of us,young and old.
The workers have been well taken care of all these years now the time has come that we cannot afford all of what they are asking for.

Anonymous said...

12/8/07 6:13
The way I see it, Police medic $88,000 civilian medic $48,000
88-48= 40,000 plus the police have better benefits than civilans.
Ask the Chief how many tickets or arrest are made by police medics. Not many, because they are usually tied up on ems calls and at the hospital.
If this was such a good deal why is Greenburgh police, the only dept doing it?????????????????
Can anybody amswer that???