You may soon see the Town of Marlborough police wearing body cameras — if the county, state or federal governments provide funding for their purchase, that is.

The introduction of the technology into the force was included in the Police Reform Committee’s lengthy list of recommendations to improve transparency and accountability in the department, which was passed unanimously by the Town Board March 8. Though the municipality felt its department did not suffer from racial or other biases, the evaluation and reform plan adoption was required by Gov. Cuomo or the town would risk losing future state funding.

The committee, spearheaded by Police Chief Gerald Cocozza and Councilman Howard Baker, listed seven overarching recommendations: review several use of force/ crisis intervention practices; hire a wider and more diverse staff; require more regimented training; reinstitute yearly written performance evaluations; provide an easily accessible place for the public to submit anonymous complaints; create a more transparent platform for the public to review police data; and foster a strong relationship between the force and community.

“We believe showing strong support for the police department is a priority,” the draft concludes. “We must do it in a way that fosters trust and builds respect for our officers. It must not be done in a way that puts forth a feeling that the police department are enforcers antagonistic to our community. Our police force must always strive to improve its relationship with our community and the feedback we’ve received shows that the town of Marlborough Police Department is doing just that.”

The panel found that Marlborough’s arrest data closely reflects that of the entire state: Between January 2019 and August 2020, White arrestees were taken into custody by both the Town of Marlborough police and the New York State Police at about a 60 percent rate. Blacks and Hispanics made up about 26 and 12 percent, respectively, of the arrest data. Ulster County officers arrested Black citizens at a higher rate: 33 percent of arrestees during the same time frame were Black, while Whites and Hispanics made up 50 and 16 percent of the data, respectively.

While the recommendations did include various forms of updating its police force, there were several sections that the committee determined were not in need of updating. Disciplinary procedures for officers were deemed suitable, according to the drafted list. Instead of concentrating on punishing officers after wrongdoing, the committee sought to prevent prejudiced situations through education.

The committee recommended putting officers through implicit bias, crisis intervention techniques and mental health/EDP training. One option offered by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office is a 40 hour course focused on de-escalation techniques and communication and enrollees will receive certification upon successful completion of this training.
The panel also suggested equipping its officers with body cameras, but is out of the financial reach for the Town of Marlborough at this time.
Despite the Town Board holding a public hearing on the reform report, no members of the public provided comment at the Monday meeting. Baker did say that additional suggestions came in from fellow panel members that would clear up the language in the list, but nothing substantial was changed.

“[They were] very good suggestions,” Cocozza said.

The Town Board unanimously ratified the recommendations and will submit the report to the state for implementation.

Also at the March 8 meeting, the Town Board closed the public hearing on short term rentals. Similarly to the public hearing on the police reform report, no members of the public participated. The board did not take an action on its proposed law because it is awaiting evaluations made by Ulster County.

“Whatever the county might have introduced, we might take that into consideration. We might like the law the way it is and just pass the law at the next meeting. It’s a board decision, so we’ll move forward with that,” said Town Supervisor Al Lanzetta.