A Message from the Chief

Mission Statement

"The mission of the Orangetown Police Department is to work in partnership with the community to protect life and property, solve neighborhood problems, and enhance the quality of life in our Town."

Organizational Values

The Town of Orangetown Police believes that providing superior service to the citizens of Orangetown is our primary responsibility and that all of our work should be structured with that goal in mind. We further believe that in this goal we should be responsible to decisions made by our elected officials and the citizens of the community. In order to achieve and maintain superior standard in both our work product and our work performance, we are committed to the following values:

Strong planning and decision making involving employee participation to the greatest extent possible.

Excellence in delivery of service to the public.

Respect for dignity of employees and recognition of individual contributions and initiative.

Vigorous pursuit of competent work and responsibility in the performance of duties.

Integrity and honesty in all aspects of service.

Communication achieved and information shared in a constructive open and supportive manner.

Equitable treatment and opportunity for all employees.

Foundation for the Future

While certain traditional methods in policing have brought us success in the past, these techniques may hinder our progress in the future. The modern work world has become a place of constant change and transition. In the future, success will depend on how well an organization can recognize the need for and adapt to change. New flexible approaches toward leadership have to be tried. A better-educated Police Officer will be empowered to perform his/her job with less direct supervision. The Police Department of the future must as a whole work to be "smarter." Without the ability to identify and act on emerging issues, organizations such as ours are doomed to inefficiency and ineffectiveness.

I believe that police departments are being held accountable as never before for both the actions of their officers and their use of resources. Police administrators have an obligation to the public to assure good employees are selected, trained to do their jobs, and properly placed within the organization. We must respond to emerging issues and put in place effective organization structures that are responsive to the needs of the people, and are in adherence to ethical standards.

In the past year the Orangetown Police Department has been going through a process of self-examination. Town officials have now reviewed the findings of two formalized studies that were authorized to look at the internal workings and operating practices of the department. Both studies have been reviewed by the staff of the police department, the Town Board, and have been made available to both the public and media. The recommendations contained in those reports have been given much consideration and are being used in constructive terms. It is my hope that any issues within the department that are negatively impacting the organization can be identified and addressed in a comprehensive manner.

The Orangetown Police Department is presently looking into methods that will assist the administration in better utilizing its human resources. Such utilization must be consistent with the philosophies associated with Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving, as well as technological advances. As a Police Department, we must continue to analyze the changing demographics, crime trends, business and residential growth areas in town, to determine the optimum level of police service needed to properly serve the town’s people. Technology will help to make information management easier and should in turn allow our mid-level and first-line managers to have an expanded span of control.

Any restructuring of the department will be done in ways that do not interfere with the service delivered or department’s overall efficiency. The administration of the Orangetown Police Department can never advocate a reduction in service that will adversely affect the safety, prevention of criminality, or will lead to a lessened quality of life in the Town. New innovations toward efficiency will always be explored at every level. If crime statistics and trends remain the same, calls for service do not rise annually in any drastic manner, and the composition of the community remains basically the same, I envision that in the next one to five (1-5) years that a restructuring of the police department can take place making it an even more effective agency.

As the department moves into an era of Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving philosophy, we realize that the way the agency evaluates the job performance of its employees must also change. All first-line and mid-level managers will be receiving training in the modern methods of personnel evaluation. I feel that any resources spent in assuring that the work of an officer is properly evaluated and changed for the better is well spent. Ultimately enhanced employee performance will have a positive impact on the service delivered.

As society in the years to come see an increasing "graying of America", the youth criminals will increasingly prey on the elderly. Sometimes fear that one will become a crime victim can be as damaging to a community as the crimes themselves. The growing numbers of crime prone youth in our metropolitan areas virtually ensure that high juvenile crime rates may continue to rise. In the upcoming year the Orangetown Police Department plans to engage in programs that will prevent juvenile crime and delinquency. With the rebirth of our Youth Court, the continuance of the Youth Police Academy, and plans for the department to participate in a Youth Explorers Post, it is the department’s dream that we can positively influence the trends toward youth related crime and/or anti-social behavior. At the same time, our Community Police Officers will continue to receive training and make presentations in the area of senior citizen crime prevention techniques. Hopefully, these initiatives will lend themselves to a partnership between the police and community. The department is constantly in the search for outside funding and grants that will better enable us to facilitate and expand these programs.

Developments in police technology will help the department to better analyze problems and develop crime prevention and apprehension, as well as management strategies. New information systems will be an essential circuitry to organizations such as ours, often helping us to define and evaluate the solutions to problems. Organizational strategy can no longer be separated from information technology strategy. In 1998 we hope to be able to utilize the funding we realized in our "Cops More" grant to make the computer a proactive companion to officers in all aspects of their work.

Every functional unit has a customer. In the Police Department every question must be, "How does this action add value to the customer service?". For philosophical changes to take place in an organization that lends itself to effective "customer oriented" policing, it is necessary for department personnel to develop new attitudes, knowledge, and skills. We must also reiterate and refine our current skills. This change in mindset is best achieved through the training and education of departmental personnel. High quality in-service, field training, and Police Academy training must continue to remain a focus in order to guarantee a high level of customer service. The department remains committed to high training standards.

The Police Administration plans to work closely with our elected officials and the rank and file in order to insure that the citizens of the Town of Orangetown receive optimum police protection and service. At the same time we will assure the people that we will operate the department in a well organized, effective, and fiscally responsible manner.

My special thanks go to Administrative Lieutenant William Schnakenberg who devoted his time, effort, and expertise in formatting and maintaining this site.

Sincerely,

Kevin A. Nulty
Chief of Police