RSS Feed
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
County gives $200K to First Precinct to fight gang violence
The monies, from the U.S. Department of Justice's Edward Byrne Memorial Formula Grant Program, are available through the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. They will be used to cover costs incurred by the First Precinct's Gang Task Force for the current funding year, which runs through August 31. "In their ongoing commitment to maintain and improve neighborhood safety, the Suffolk County Police Department's First Precinct has developed a comprehensive integrated program that has proven to be instrumental in preventing, deterring and reducing gang-related crime in the Town of Babylon," said D'Amaro. "The County Legislature was pleased to authorize these funds so that the First Precinct could continue their efforts to keep community residents safe." Instituted over a decade ago, and originally targeted to specific areas in the town, the First Precinct's Gang Task Force initiative has expanded greatly since its inception. For the past four years, the Task Force has been providing services to all hamlets in the Town of Babylon including Wyandanch, North Amityville, Copiague, Babylon Village, Wheatley Heights, Deer Park, West Babylon and North Babylon. Other organizations involved in their investigation, enforcement and prevention programs include local schools, community groups and County agencies. Since 2003, violent crimes in Suffolk County have decreased 8.33 percent and property crimes have decreased 11.2 percent for an overall 10.87 percent drop in crime, according to preliminary figures recently released by County Executive Steve Levy's office.
"The First Precinct has done an outstanding job of developing and broadening this program through the creation of a very effective community partnership," said D'Amaro. "Babylon residents can feel safer because of this initiative, and I am happy to be able to provide crucial financial support through the approval of this appropriation."
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||||||
