The Shawangunk Town Board unanimously approved a draft plan by the volunteer Police Reform and Reinvention Committee that offers wide-ranging recommendations to improve the police department.

The comprehensive report reviewed the operation of the town’s 20-member full- and part-time department and its procedures and policies. Among the suggestions, the committee recommended an increase in training to improve the department’s transparency to “further establish trust with the Town of Shawangunk community.”

Twelve town residents wrote the document following an executive order from Gov. Cuomo that directed every municipality with a police agency to review current police force deployments, strategies, policies, procedures and practices.

The executive order, which came after the May 25, 2020 police-involved death of George Floyd in Minnesota, directed municipalities to form a committee of the head of the police agency and stakeholders to develop a plan that would be forwarded to New York State’s Director of the Division of the Budget by April 1, 2021.

The executive order said the report should be “tailored to the specific needs of the community and general promotion of improved police agency and community relationships based on trust, fairness, accountability, and transparency, and which seek to reduce any racial disparities in policing.”

Leif Spencer, a retired sergeant from the Town of Newburgh Police Department, was the chairman of the committee which met 10 times between January and March, 2021. There were three public forums and seven stakeholder sessions.

Community input was also solicited with a questionnaire posted on the town website for a month. There were 71 responses.

Spencer praised the committee’s ability to work together as he discussed the report at the town board’s March 18 meeting.

“What we did find out was we live in a good community,” Spencer said. “We live in a safe community. We live in a community that has a lack of crime and that’s because there’s police and community cooperation. That’s not to say there’s not areas that need to be addressed. We found those areas. We realize there are some training issues. There are policies that need to be updated. We’re going to move forward. This is the beginning. This isn’t the end.”
Included among the recommendations:

• Research the purchase and implementation of body-worn cameras for all police personnel. Research the purchase and implementation of dash-mounted vehicle cameras. Look for external assistance in funding the purchases. Examine additional less-than-lethal options that may exist for police officers.

• Increase annual department-wide training on use of force, community relations and policing, implicit bias, courtesy and cultural awareness.

• Improve transparency with the community.

• Continue to recruit and hire a diverse workforce.

• Research and implement techniques to strengthen and expand its community policing efforts.

• Examine the New York State Police Accreditation Program with the objective of becoming accredited.

The committee will remain intact and meet periodically and talk to Police Chief Gerald Marlatt to make sure the recommendations are carried through.

Town Supervisor John Valk sat in on one session when committee member and Town Councilman Robert Miller was unable to attend and he said he was impressed with the committee’s work.

“The product you turned out was impressive,” Valk said. “It’s nice to have your own policy to identify your own police department. It’s good public input.”

Councilman Brian Amthor, who was also on the committee, said it was important to have a diverse group working on the report.

“There’s still a lot of work to do, but we have a good base,” Amthor said. “We all worked well together and got along. I think it’s a wonderful report and we’re going to grow from this.”

Marlatt thought the recommendation for additional training was warranted.

“The officers are always clamoring for training,” Marlatt said. “That’s a sign of a good workforce. One that is willing to and looking for opportunities to better themselves and do better at their jobs. When they do better, the community benefits from it.”

According to the report, the Town of Shawangunk was ranked the 14th safest in New York and 48th in the United States in Safewise’s fifth (2017) Safe Cities annual cities report. The Police Department Demographics reported 80 percent of its employees were white males. Asian-American males, Hispanic males, African-American males and white females were reported at five percent each.

Joining Spencer, Marlatt, Miller and Amthor on the committee were: Margot Hanstein, Ulster County’s Public Defender’s Office; Brian Devincenzi, Wallkill School District Assistant Superintendent; Rev. Stan Seagren, Wallkill Reformed Church; Richard Barnhart, retired SUNY New Paltz Police Chief; Paul Bader retired Capt. U.S. Postal Service Police; Curtis Johnson, retired New York State Corrections officer; Rebecca Mantello, attorney; and John Spinato, Town of Shawangunk Police Department.

In other board news, Valk reported that the town will receive $1.52 million in federal funding under the American Rescue Plan Act. The town must spend the pandemic relief funding by 2024.

“We should really look at some infrastructure projects if it’s allowed,” Councilman Adrian DeWitt said.

“I was on a Zoom meeting with Sen. (Chuck) Schumer and they didn’t have a lot of guidance,” Valk said about the funding. “That’s forthcoming.”

The board also voted 4-0 to adopt a Town Pandemic Plan that identified essential and non-essential employees and safety protocols. It determined that most essential functions require employees be on-site to effectively operate the department. Some positions, though, are allowed to operate remotely.

“Through assigning certain staff to work remotely and by staggering work shifts, we can decrease crowding and density at work sites and on public transportation,” the report said.