Please support bills A04197 & S04956

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NYS Assoc. of Aux Police

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May 27, 2005, 12:15:02 AM5/27/05

to Asse...@auxiliary-police.org, Sen...@auxiliary-police.org

The New York State Association of Auxiliary Police is in support of bills A04197 & S04956 which will amend section 466-c of the Real Property Tax Law to provide members of auxiliary police forces in certain counties with a real property tax exemption, similar to what was provided to volunteer firefighters in chapter 440 of the Laws of 2002.

Although we would like to see parity with the Volunteer Firefighters on a statewide level, we feel that this is a step in the right direction. We know that the Nassau County Legislature is in full support of these bills.

Other similar bills try to do the same for other counties but do not have "same as" bills or are not sponsored by members of both parties.

I would like to remind you that our members come from all over the state and are in the following departments:

We hope to see more legislation that gives us parity with the Volunteer Firefighters on a statewide level.

We are having allot of problems with recruiting new members, keeping existing members, and providing training so that we may adequately and effectively perform our mandated duties.

Auxiliary police officers in New York State are volunteers from the community, serving without pay. Auxiliary Police operate under the authority of the Defense Emergency Act of 1951. Reserve Police, Special Police and Auxiliary Fire Police come under other parts of the law, but do many of the same things.

The duties and activities of auxiliary police vary considerably. In upstate communities, auxiliary police direct traffic at parades, fairs, special events and church crossings. They check vacation homes, participate in emergency rescues and searches for missing persons, ride as second man in patrol cars and perform administrative work for police departments.

Downstate, and in larger cities, auxiliary police patrol trains, subway platforms and bus terminals. They perform neighborhood watches and patrols and assist police in crowd control. Auxiliary police educate the public in crime prevention techniques, engrave valuable property with the owner’s drivers license or I.D. number, patrol the streets and report illegal activities to the appropriate law enforcement agency. They check doors and windows to make sure they are locked and that no one has or can gain entry illegally, they patrol in squad cars in an effort to reduce vandalism. They are "the eyes & ears" of the local Police Department.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States of America. The terrorists cowardly but deadly attack on the nation began in New York when they crashed two hijacked planes into the world trade center. The building erupted into flames and soon crashed to the ground trapping innocent people and rescue workers inside. The terrorists’ plan of terror then spread to other parts of the shocked nation.

Shortly after the governor of New York declared a state of Emergency and the Auxiliary Police mobilized quickly. Auxiliary Police Officers in the Metropolitan Area responded to the mobilization and were out on the front lines risking their lives so that others may live. Auxiliary Police Officers worked through the night and through the next few days, many until they could no longer stand upright and were forced to get rest. Without the Auxiliary Police Officers who responded to the mobilization there would have been many more lost lives and destruction.

A year later we had The Big Blackout that covered the north-east.

Every Officer was called in to cover all the intersections that were without traffic lights & to protect all the stores without alarms.

In order to perform these services we must be adequately staffed and properly trained. We must have assistance and incentives to encourage people who already have many demands on their time, and limited financial resources, to volunteer with our agency.

These incentives can be financial in nature, such as tax incentives, refunds, or reductions. They can also be in form of retirement pensions for long service but many municipalities cannot afford the financial burdens of retirement programs without state and/or federal assistance.

An additional incentive is recognition by the community of our service. The physical manifestation of that recognition should come in the form of specialized and continuing training, and new and dedicated equipment. Most local municipalities are hard put to fund their regular departments with little or nothing left over for volunteer organizations.

We would also like to see the laws that empower us be simplified.

We believe the State should require that we all get Peace Officer Training & meet a set of Statewide Standards.

We feel that our special duties during non-emergencies should be set by the Law Enforcement agency sponsoring us.

We feel that our special duties during non-emergencies should never be to replace a full time Law Enforcement Officer.

We feel that our job is to help full time Law Enforcement Officer by being an extension of his authority like an EMT is to a Doctor.

If you need more information on our organization, feel free to contact me at 516 795-4378 or 516 458-6797.

Glenn J. Kearney
President,
The New York State Association of Auxiliary Police

POB 351

Massapequa, NY 11758
http://www.auxiliary-police.org

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