Frank Castiglia Jr: Oswego County Police Reform – Creation Of Civilian Police Academy

by Contributor | April 28, 2021 9:16 am

To the Editor,

Mandates!
Department heads throw this word around during budget time like a four letter word. Most of the time it is unfunded mandates from the State or Federal Government that is used as an explanation for taxes and budget increases.

Well, we can blame downstate liberal politicians for most of our unfunded mandates. The key word there is most! During the March County Legislative meeting a mandate was slipped thru in the form of a Police Reform Policy. It was not the entire Reform Policy but action item number 6.

Now this is in no way a support for reform. What this letter is all about is the fact that we as local taxpayers and local leaders hate it when Albany or Washington passes on Mandates to us and then when they don’t fund them it is even worse.
Well inside the Police Reform Policy that your Legislative body passed on to Albany there was a Mandate included that if accepted by Albany will cost us.

It is not a Mandate forced on us by Albany but one that was created by our own local officials. Number 6 action item calls for the creation of a Civilian Police Academy. Now who is going to pay for this when it and if it is accepted by the State.

You and I will.

I see some good old boy running this in Oswego County someone recently retired collecting a pension and a salary also. This should have never been approved by the Legislative body.

All other action items were acceptable and will help our front-line men and women in Blue. We must hope that the State rejects action item number 6 and sends it back to Oswego county for a redo.

– Frank Castiglia Jr.

---

Below was added in by Oswego County Today for reference:

Recommendation Number 6 in the county’s Police Reform and Reinvention Plan[1] –

“Develop and implement a Civilian Police Academy. The Oswego County Citizen Police Academy will be designed to strengthen the partnership between the police agencies of Oswego County and the citizens of Oswego County. The objectives of this program are: To encourage increased communication and interaction between Law Enforcement Officers and the community which they serve; to dispel misconceptions about the roles, responsibilities, and activities of law enforcement officers; to provide participants with a basic understanding of police powers and limitations imposed law and police department policy; to familiarize participants with the dangers, difficulties, and and ambiguities inherent to modern police work and to foster a citizen police partnership to combat crime and develop a safer community.”

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/frank-castiglia-jr-oswego-county-police-reform-creation-of-civilian-police-academy/

---