Southampton Town’s draft police reform plan will be the subject of a public hearing tonight at 6 p.m.
The report, prepared at the direction of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order 202 issued last June, is the culmination of the work of a 23-person Community Law Enforcement Review Committee co-chaired by Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman and Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki.
The committee was established by the Southampton Town Board in August and held more than a dozen meetings, including a youth forum and two listening sessions. The CLERC also conducted two community surveys.
The draft report was presented to the town board at a special meeting on Feb. 12 and is posted on the Town of Southampton’s website here.
The report presents 21 recommendations, including those to improve outreach and community engagement, to improve hiring practices to diversify the police department and to improve training to better equip officers for interaction with diverse communities. It also includes general recommendations such as implementing a department-wide body camera program, expanding diversion programs, enhancing supervisory oversight and collaborating with neighboring departments to standardize policies and procedures.
Tonight’s public hearing can be viewed on the town website through the Town Clerk portal at www.southamptontownny.gov .
The Town Board is holding at least one public hearing on the draft report before adopting it in its final form to be filed with the New York State Office of Budget by April 1.
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