Village News

Valley Stream officials meet with local police

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Village of Valley Stream officials met with Nassau County Police Department members and County Leg. Bill Gaylor on Jan. 28 to discuss how to “further the cooperative efforts between Village Hall and the police in staying on top of crime in our area,” according to Mayor Ed Fare.

The recent rash of bank and convenience store robberies in Valley Stream and surrounding communities was at the top of the agenda. Fare said that 5th Precinct Commander James Bartscherer and officers Rita Bopp-Carroll and Steven Lincoln, of the Problem Oriented Policing unit, shared their strategies for combating the crimes, which have seemed to be relentless in recent months.

“It was a very open, positive dialogue,” Fare said. He added that he was encouraged to hear about the formation of residents’ councils that will communicate directly with police and provide feedback. Fare noted that community frustration with any crime pattern is difficult to address because if the police or village publicize the crimes or what is being done to catch a perpetrator, the pattern often changes and the investigation can go cold.

“Typically, the village’s hands are tied with putting out press releases about crime — that’s the county’s job and the police department’s job,” he said. “They actually found that … when they put out press releases about a certain perpetrator, those crimes stopped and they had more trouble finding the guy.”

Fare said that police asked the village not to post about specific crimes on its website or social media pages, and to leave the police work to trained law enforcement.

“They’re very optimistic about a lot of the crimes,” he said. “They feel they’re in a good position — there’s not a heck of a lot I can say.”

Fare noted that he received a call from the 5th Precinct on Monday about the home invasion on East Hawthorne Avenue, which he was told was a targeted crime.

The meeting lasted two hours and included trustee John Tufarelli, Village Justice Virginia Clavin-Higgins and directors of the village’s Auxiliary Police and Code Enforcement and Public Safety departments.

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