Mount Hope Police Reform Team Convenes
The New York State deadline for police department reform plans was April 1. Missing the deadline could result in loss of state funding for the department. But no deadlines were set for implementing reform plans, noted Paul Rickard, Mount Hope Police Chief and Orange County Police Chiefs Association president. So follow through has been varied.
Forming a community advisory committee for police departments was a key and common recommendation in reform plans and often the first plan element pursued, whether at a plodding or speedy pace.
“It won’t just be about getting together, holding hands and singing,” said Rickard. “We need metrics.”
He followed guidance he sought from the National Police Foundation for the Mount Hope reform plan, including their “community engagement team.” NPF makes research based recommendations.
“He talked to community leaders to get suggestions for the best representatives.” said Marie Bubilo, Rickard’s administrative assistant.
She knows Rickard’s process because, in addition to working in his office, she joined the engagement team, having asked to be a member.
“I have a dual view, working for the police department and being Filipino. I’m an Asian American, and I’m a transplant from Queens and Long Island,” Bubilo said.
Rickard also appointed Moniysha Maldonado, whom he encountered when she organized the Black Lives Matter march in Mount Hope, He found a youth representative by asking the Minisink Valley High School principal, Bubilo said. He appointed someone to represent Mount Hope seniors, and someone familiar with the Dragon Springs Buddhist population provided Rickard with a recommendation from their group. Two police officers also joined the team, but not Rickard.
“The chief can’t be on the team. Otherwise people won’t talk and the process gets bypassed,” he said.
The group has met twice on Zoom, Maldonado said.
“It’s a great team of people from different walks of life. We tell stories of relatable moments, and we’ve come up with lots of cool ideas to further bonds between the police and community,” she said, noting that those ideas are not yet ripe for disclosure. “We started with working on community relations. I don’t know where we’ll go from here.”
