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Suffolk Sheriff’s Office Releases Interim Reform and Reinvention Report

Written by Long Island  |  01. March 2021

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. has announced that the Sheriff’s Office released its Interim Reform and Reinvention Report pursuant to New York State Executive Order 203. The report is available on the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office website at www.SuffolkSheriff.com, and although the public meeting portion has concluded, the Office is continuing to accept written comments. The report requires approval from the Suffolk County Legislature and must be sent to the Governor’s Office no later than April 1, 2021.

The Sheriff’s Office followed State guidance by developing its evaluation and report in phases while collaborating with community stakeholders. In September, the Office began facilitating conversations with members of its newly formed Community Advisory Board (CAB) to gain a better understanding of the public’s understanding of the role of the Sheriff’s Office. The Office held six of these sessions between September and January, which included Sheriff’s Office presentations followed by discussion. In February, the Office hosted four additional community meetings and asked for feedback on a series of proposed reforms in the seven areas of “Reforming and Reinventing Correctional Services,” “Reforming and Reinventing Police Service,” “Community Engagement,” “Recruitment, Diversification, and Retention,” “Sheriff’s Office Training,” “Officer Wellness,” and “Internal Affairs.”

The Sheriff’s Office is a reform-minded agency that has engaged with community partners in the non-profit, government, and educational sectors in substantive and collaborative ways over many years. The Office has five task forces comprised of community members, including the Sheriff’s Reentry Task Force with over 80 members, the Interfaith Council, the Community Advisory Board, the Deconstructing Task Force, and a small Student Advisory Board. Participants meet regularly with the County Sheriff and his staff and have played an integral role in shaping programs and policies for many years.

Sheriff Toulon stated, “The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is, and will continue to be, an agency driven to achieve excellence not by legislative mandate, but instead by its own standards and its obligation to the People of Suffolk County, New York.”

Sheriff Toulon viewed the Reform and Reinvention process as a valuable opportunity to reflect on the progress the Office has made in recent years, understand public concerns, and plan for the future. It was also an opportunity to educate the public about the role of the Sheriff’s Office. “With so many police agencies operating in Suffolk, the general public doesn’t fully understand how we affect their lives and the services we provide,” said Sheriff Toulon. The first section of the 78-page report describes the responsibilities of the Sheriff’s Office, its history, and how elected officeholders, Sheriff’s Office appointees, and long-time civil servants help shape policies. The report then discusses recent improvements in the 7 subject areas, noted deficiencies, goals and recommendations, and public input.

Highlights of some of the proposed reforms include:

  • START Resource Center staff frequently confront issues with locating safe housing for homeless individuals. It is recommended that community and government stakeholders work together to create workable solutions. The Sheriff’s Office has discussed the possibility of rehabilitating county-owned property for transitional housing and will work towards this goal in 2021.
  • Inmates with severe mental illness have more intensive needs and more frequently recidivate upon release. The Sheriff’s Office plans to focus on this issue by creating a working group in 2021 to address the continuum of support required to protect public safety and connect human services with this high-risk population.
  • During the Public Sessions, it was recommended that the Sheriff’s Office review its policies and procedures regarding the classification of transgender individuals in custody at the Suffolk County Correctional facility. It was further recommended that the Sheriff’s Office adopt policies and procedures that are more responsive to the needs of gender-expansive communities. In 2021, the Sheriff’s Office will examine relevant policies and practices, New York State Commission of Corrections’ regulations, and national best practices for the purpose of crafting a policy directive on Transgender, Intersex, Gender Non-Binary, and Gender, Nonconforming People in Custody.
  • The Sheriff’s Office will create an internal Review Board tasked with evaluating each use of force report generated. The goal of the board will be to ensure that proper procedures and guidelines are followed and to learn from each incident. If needed, the Board could establish recommendations for new methods for handling similar incidents. This platform to potentially prevent future injury to our officers and defendants/inmates could be expanded to include other high liability incidents such as motor vehicle crashes.
  • The Sheriff’s Office will implement a training program for Deputy Sheriffs to increase their understanding and awareness of the impact of trauma. The training will help them utilize trauma-informed practices in their interactions with children and adults.
  • Deputy Sheriffs are charged with executing Family Court orders to remove children from their homes for reasons such as abuse and neglect. In addition to implementing trauma informed training for Deputy Sheriffs, the Sheriff’s Office will work with community partners to develop a care package of items the officers could give to the children to ease the transition.
  • The Sheriff’s Office will facilitate coordination between the START Resource Center and Deputy Sheriffs assigned to the courts. Deputy Sheriffs frequently encounter at-risk and vulnerable individuals. The START Resource Center could be an avenue to connect these individuals with human services.
  • The Sheriff’s Office plans to create a section of the website in 2021 devoted to Police Division statistics on arrests and traffic stops. During the Public Sessions, a question was raised about the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to track racial and ethnic data during traffic stops. The Office is currently updating technology to ensure that race and ethnicity data will be captured. Furthermore, the Sheriff’s Office intends to conduct ongoing analysis of data captured regarding traffic stops and arrests to ensure all sworn members of the Sheriff’s Office are utilizing best practices to eliminate any potential bias and to protect public safety.
  • During the Public Sessions, it was recommended that the Sheriff’s Office improve its data tracking relative to Deputy Sheriff’s use of language access services. In 2021, the Office will begin to post quarterly language access assistance utilization data on its website.
  • During the Public Sessions, it was recommended that the Sheriff’s Office develop protocols and appropriate training to best handle traffic stops and other encounters with people who may have developmental disabilities, autism, or other conditions that may affect an individual’s ability to communicate effectively during police interaction. The Sheriff’s Office intends to create a program for its staff in 2021.
  • During the Public Sessions, the ability of Deputies to use discretion when deciding to make an arrest or give a warning was discussed. Deputies also have the discretion to direct a person to mental health services rather than arrest the person. It was recommended that the Sheriff’s Office track how often Deputies use this discretion and publish the data.
  • The Sheriff’s Office intends to continue to build its mentoring program with local school districts. It will expand its involvement with My Brother’s Keeper and seek out other mentoring opportunities in schools and community groups.
  • The Sheriff’s Office will work with community partners, including the Community Advisory Board, to form a working group focused on developing a more diverse workforce.
  • The Sheriff’s Office will revise its mission statement in 2021 to include the goal of developing a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities it serves.
  • In 2021, the Sheriff’s Office will seek out and implement trauma-informed training for its sworn members and customer service training for all civilians who engage frequently with the public. The Sheriff’s Office will implement a specialized training program for Deputy Sheriffs to increase their understanding and awareness of the impact of trauma. The training will help them utilize trauma-informed practices in their interactions with children and adults.
  • In corrections, special needs inmates include any individuals in custody with mental, emotional, or developmental disabilities, disorders, or impairments. Presently, training regarding special needs inmates is presented once in the academy. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office will be expanding upon this curriculum in 2021 so that all sworn staff will receive on-going special needs inmate training.
  • The Sheriff’s Office will implement Realistic De-Escalation training in 2021 for all sworn staff. This form of training exposes staff to real-life situations they may encounter on the job and gives them first-hand experience on how to handle these scenarios. This useful and informative training will assist sworn officers in managing conflicts and help them develop problem solving tools to de-escalate situations they encounter.
  • The Academy Bureau is scheduled to have four qualified de-escalation instructors by January of 2021. De-escalation training will then be used within the Professional Communication block of annual training.
  • The Academy Bureau is working to facilitate the creation of peer support groups within the Sheriff’s Office. These groups will work closely with Chaplains and mental health professionals to provide support to Sheriff’s Office personnel in need.
  • The Academy Bureau is in the process of developing/ implementing a PEER team which will be a first for the Sheriff’s Office. The team’s primary focus will be supporting fellow officers in times of crisis, promoting mental health, and helping to prevent behaviors that may lead to illness, injury, or death of members.
  • During the Public Sessions it was recommended that Academy recruits and sworn personnel receive annual training in LGBTQ cultural diversity. The Sheriff’s Office intends to adopt a relevant training program. The Sheriff’s Office also plans to review cultural competency training curricula and provide this training to all staff.
  • In 2021, the Sheriff’s Office will implement officer wellness “check-ins” with supervisory staff. These check-ins will be conducted regularly to ensure that Deputy Sheriffs and Correction Officers under their commands are taking care of their overall well-being, and effectively managing and coping with stress.
  • All staff at the Sheriff’s Office will be encouraged to be alert to “red flags” with a coworker, or immediately following a Use of Force incident, sick time abuse, or other issues. Staff will then be offered assistance and referred for counseling or treatment.
  • The Sheriff’s Office will launch an internal education campaign to alert staff about the higher rates of depression among law enforcement and the signs and symptoms of depression. Resources will be made available on the Office intranet and on signage in employee areas.
  • The Sheriff’s Office is already using a variety of methods associated with Early Intervention Systems (EIS) that engage supervisors in detecting and remedying problematic behavior that occurs under their command before there are issues that can lead to more serious consequences.
  • The Sheriff’s Office will be exploring database programs used to assist in tracking performance and complaints that occur over the course of an officer’s career. Often, incidents do not occur in quick succession, and personnel and management change over the years. EIS database systems lessen the reliance on institutional knowledge about incidents and provide a means to analyze individual trends over the course of time.
  • In 2021, the Sheriff’s Office plans to utilize the Employee Mentorship Program in another arena – as a non-punitive measure for officers with minor disciplinary sanctions and/or issues. By addressing these behaviors early on, the need for more formal disciplinary measures, as well as the consequences to which these behaviors may lead, will be mitigated before they ever become a major problem for the individual and for the agency.
  • The process to file a complaint with Internal Affairs is on the Sheriff’s Office website but during a Public Session it was recommended that the Office review the website to ensure the public understands the process to file a complaint with Internal Affairs and post a flow chart that provides information on how complaints are handled. The Sheriff’s Office intends to follow through on these suggestions.

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