County Executive Molinaro organized the Collaborative in order to have a comprehensive and consistent plan across town borders to reform and modernize all police agencies in Dutchess County. Each individual municipality will be able to utilize this plan as a framework to pass their own legislation.
Executive Order 203 was issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo on June 12, 2020 and mandates that all municipalities in New York State hold public hearings and enact broad based police reform and reinvention by April 1st, 2021, or risk losing all state funding. View the Executive Order.
The Police Reform & Modernization Collaborative will be hosting virtual community forums throughout the county. Click here to learn more and sign up. In addition, you can also submit your feedback here.
The goal of these forums is to allow Supervisors, Mayors and Police Chiefs the opportunity to hear from residents about their specific ideas for police reform to inform the county and each municipality’s plans. The county is assisting in the coordination of these forums due to the current restrictions on in-person gatherings due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
New York State Police are technically exempt from Executive Order 203. However, they are cooperating with the reform process here in Dutchess County and are already in compliance with the Governor’s executive order.
We are suggesting that those municipalities that currently have constables and/or peace officers participate in this process. Currently Amenia, Dover, Pawling, Unionvale and Washington all have constables.
