Chief of Police Joseph Wing-Transcript

Ben Golden collaborates when interviewing the Chief of Police Joseph Wing:

(00:00)Forestano: From my own observations, Terrace Avenue is a very high crime ridden area and there has been recent stories in Newsday about it. Are there any special concentrations of police in that area or like any special techniques you’re using to combat crime? (00:14)

(00:15) Wing-We actually are. On January 8th, we started the Terrace-Bedell initiative. The Hempstead Police Department partnered with the District Attorney’s office. Kathleen Rice is the District Attorney. We brought in a program specifically designed to reduce crime on Terrace Avenue and Bedell Street. (00:35)

(00:36) Wing: What it does, one small piece of it was we took about 14 individuals and we gave them an opportunity not to be arrested as long as they agreed not to engage in criminal activity. We also, in an effort to help them, offered them educational services, health services, resume writing services, if they needed social services. Whatever their needs were, we wanted to make sure those were met, in an effort so that can stay out of criminal activity.

(01:15)-But that was really just a small piece of it. The major portion of it is the partnership we formed residents in the area, with business people from the area, with local clergy from the area. The relationships that we’re forming, what the police officers we’re forming with residents and these other groups are going a long way and have gone a long way just in the short months we’ve done this. If you go to Terrace Avenue now, you see a market difference between what it was and what it is today, and you can speak to some of the residents and they’ll tell you their feelings of safety and security have grown exponentially.

(01:55)-compared to where it was before January 8th. We think the program is working. Statistically it’s a little early to come out and say that it’s been a success statistically. The softer side of it is that the residents feel that it’s successful, that they’re feeling safer, that they are enjoying their relationship with their police department. Things like that are very hard to quantify, but yet they’re very important when it comes to community relations and how crime is being handled.