Goal:  To strengthen the relationship between police agencies and the Adirondack communities they serve with specific focus on eliminating racial disparities that disproportionately harm  Black, Indigenous (and) People of Color (BIPOC) and other marginalized residents and visitors by engaging in a positive process that affirms the importance of police agencies in realizing communities are safer, healthier and free of racism and inequity.
 

• Fostering community involvement in policing

• Providing expert resources to  help with police reform, including meeting Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order #203

• Providing Cultural Consciousness and Anti-Racism education to help realize more equitable policing.
   

The Community Policing initiative is a core component of the Adirondack Diversity Inititative’s groundbreaking Community Wellness Program.  The Community Policing initiative was born out the Adirondack communities collective call for accountability and reform after the death of George Floyd and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order #203: New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, which states that “urgent and immediate action is needed to eliminate racial inequities in policing, to modify and modernize policing strategies, policies, procedures, and practices, and to develop practices to better address the particular needs of communities of color to promote public safety, improve community engagement, and foster trust.”

 

ADI has contracted with RENZ Consulting, LLC  (www.renzconsulting.net) a firm that specializes in strengthening police-community relations at the state and local level and within urban or rural settings.  Working with the needs of our Adirondack communities they assess the needs of all stakeholders and identify strategies to address issues head on through training and workshops supported by empirically sound, evidence-based research, in order to bridge the gap between police officers and the communities they serve.

Objectives of the Community Policing Initiative:  

• Reduce racial inequities in policing;

• Reform and modernize policing strategies, policies, procedures and practices;

• Develop and implement practices to better address the particular needs of Black, Indigenous (and) People of Color (BIPOC) and other marginalized communities to promote public safety, improve community engagement, and foster trust;

• Increase the cultural competence of police personnel in the Adirondack Park;

• Increase police- community engagement in the Adirondack Park region: and

• Decrease negative relationships between police officers and BIPOC and other marginalized community members within the Adirondack Park.
   

The Community Policing Initiative is a commitment to work with State and local police agencies in the Adirondack region, to help them fulfill their commitment to equity and inclusion, by building stronger relationships between the agencies and diverse communities they serve.  For questions on the Community Policing initiative, please contact Melanie at mreding@adirondack.org

 

Since 2020 RENZ has trained over 165 officers, DEC rangers and correctional officers at the following departments:

NY State Troopers Troop B

DEC Rangers and Environmental Conservation Officers

Lake Placid Police Department
Potsdam Police Department
SUNY Potsdam Campus Police
Essex County Sheriff’s Office

Essex County Correctional Officers
NY State Police Troop B
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
Saranac Lake Police Department
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
Lake Placid Police Department
Warren County Sheriff’s Office
SUNY Plattsburgh Police Department
Plattsburgh Police Department
 

​ *This initiative has been made possible, in part, by a generous gift from Lee and Nancy Keet