For Glen Cove Cops, Grants Mean Better Policing

Over the last decade, the Glen Cove Police Department has managed to keep pace with technological advances that would normally be out of reach of an agency its size, obtaining equipment with price tags that are well out of its budget.

In 10 years, the department has secured more than $3.5 million in federal grant money and other funds, money it spent on state-of-the-art equipment that affects how Glen Cove Police do their job every day. About 20 different grants have been awarded, funding high-tech purchases police say save them time and save taxpayers money.

They acquired digital fingerprinting technology, a Laser Shot firearm training system, interactive SMART Board, crime mapping system, a community policing sub-station and a high-definition surveillance system, to name a few.

"We really wouldn't have the resources to buy it on our own," said Sgt. Christopher Ortiz, looking at a computer screen showing a detailed map of Glen Cove. Red dots were scattered across it. "This picture is worth a thousand words."

He pointed to a cluster of dots. They represented burglaries, a slew reported within a few months' time in 2011. By studying the cluster's locale, police identified as a suspect an 18-year-old who lived nearby and arrested him. He confessed he was breaking into houses as he walked home from downtown along different routes. The mapping confirmed his method. 

That's the kind of story red dots on a map can tell. Make the map interactive and the resource becomes even more efficient.

"We're improving our ability to keep this community safe," Ortiz said.

The Laser Shot system is another such improvement. A projection screen in the department's year-old training room displays movie-quality scenes in which characters play out lifelike scenarios. A person might pull a gun or gesture with an empty hand; an unarmed civilian can suddenly run across the screen. Officers use a realistic imitation Glock pistol fitted with a laser to practice eliminating deadly threats - without shooting bystanders in the process.

Sgt. Jack Mancusi, the department's firearm instructor, demonstrated a scenario. He barked commands as a situation between two men escalated. Mancusi continued to issue verbal orders as the man with the gun gestured toward him. He drew his gun when the character placed a gun on a table. When the man picked up the weapon, Mancusi fired. A video game-style gunshot sounded and the character slumped to the ground.

"See, I like how he did that," Mancusi said of the empty-handed gesture. The program presents trainees with such judgment challenges, tracking where their gun was pointed throughout the exercise and testing their restraint in tense situations.

"It's hard to teach something like this," Ortiz said. He understands how important it is to teach officers to identify deadly force, which isn't always obvious; his first homicide case was a person killed with a mini bat, the souvenirs sold at baseball games.

Before the training room was set up, officers had to travel out of town for practice like this. Now, Ortiz said the intention is to have an environment where the State can come and train officers on-site, and where other departments can visit for their training. That has its own advantages, helping to familiarize local law enforcement agencies with each other and build relationships.

Grants are varied in their purposes and specifications, said Ortiz, who researches them and writes the applications. Some are difficult to get; data must be analyzed and presented to demonstrate a need. Once the dollars are received and spent they must be accounted for.

They sometimes translate directly to arrests. One targeting violent crime funded a $300,000 effort to flood areas where violent crimes were clustered with patrol officers. The initiative turned up drug and gun arrests and uncovered gang activity.

Another grant brought the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws program to Glen Cove, which sent undercover buyers into the city stores selling alcohol. The first sweep revealed 60 percent compliance citywide. Subsequent operations have seen compliance at 100 percent.

Upgrades can impact police work in less obvious ways. Digital fingerprinting enables prisoners to be identified and entered into the County database without paying two officers overtime to transport suspects to Nassau County Police Headquarters.

The Community Policing Sub-Station cost more than $100,000, bought entirely with grant money. Obtained this past summer, it has proved useful on several occasions. It was parked at the bridge on Morgan's Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, a comfort for waterlocked residents with no power.

"My vision for this is a one-stop refuge; a place for service," Ortiz said.

The station brings headquarters out into the community, he explained. Television, computers and other bells and whistles allow police a base of operations at any site. Detectives used the vehicle at the scene of Nunzio Izzo's disappearance in December. Frigid temperatures can be an impediment to efficiency, Ortiz said, so having a warm place to work from was helpful as they searched for and located Izzo's body.

The city's license plate readers and surveillance cameras installed last year were grant-funded, allowing police another means of investigating crimes that have occurred. 

Grants can come in different forms. Chief William Whitton wanted a high-axle vehicle for storm response, so when the department learned of a federal program supplying surplus military vehicles, Glen Cove Police acquired a camouflage Humvee it will repaint and have on hand for emergencies.

"The chief really had a vision for what he wanted this department to be," Ortiz said. "It's all part of a master plan to bring this agency to the forefront of law enforcement."

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