Ithaca is still working out the details of its police reform package, but a final plan is expected to be ready for a vote in a few months.
It’s a task that was mandated by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and one the city has addressed creatively. One of the plan’s boldest ideas is adding civilians to the force to help respond to non-criminal calls, like parking issues.
That’s something the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) fully supports because it would help reduce some of the stress felt by overworked officers, said Thomas Condzella, Ithaca PBA president.
What You Need To Know
- There are six subcommittees working on a final proposal for reimagining police in Ithaca
- The final proposal is expected to be voted on by the Common Council in February
- One of the main goals is to improve the police/community relationship
“More time that they can spend tackling serious issues of violence, theft, burglary, the serious crimes that police were meant to do in the first place,” Mayor Svante Myrick said.
One primary goal is to repair the police-community relationship, something the Ithaca PBA and the mayor agree is broken.
“We need the police union to stop their culture of compliant, stop their culture of crying and to focus on building a culture of connection,” Myrick said. “Instead of ignoring the pleas of the Black community, instead of attacking the only and first Black mayor in Ithaca, they need to focus on why it is that the Black community in Ithaca does not trust them.”
“From what I’m hearing from many of the average residents of the city, they’re very unhappy with the increase in violent crime we’ve been experiencing,” Condzella said.
According to the Ithaca Police Department, gun-related crimes through the beginning of December of this year total 172, the highest level in the last three years. Aggravated assaults in 2021 so far are at 60, the highest in at least six years. But felony arrests are at a six-year low, and misdemeanor arrests are the second lowest they’ve been since 2016.
“Our department has been understaffed and under-resourced now for several years,” said Condzella.
Acting Police Chief John Joly said the department will have seven open positions by mid-January, and they are allotted 67 officers, including supervisors. That includes seven officers on leave in various forms.
“The police department budget has grown steadily every year, including this year and next year. They need to get the job done with the resources they have,” said Myrick.
The PBA president said filling any open positions that would increase proactive policing is tough, since officers have remained without a contract or a raise since 2011, and the Ithaca Police Department continues a legal battle with the city.
“We can’t just revert back to the way things were, that wasn’t working for anybody,” Myrick said. “We had officers burning out, we had community members living in fear. We deserve a better system, so we’re going to fight for it.”
The process continues as six subcommittees work on a final proposal over the next several weeks. Myrick said the final proposal will be voted on by the Common Council in February.
