March 15, 2011 NY community hires security patrols after increased break-ins www.privateofficer.com
Gervasi’s black Chevrolet Suburban has emergency lights on its roof and magnetic signs on its doors that say “Community Patrol.”
A half-dozen kick-in burglaries have occurred since November in Orangeburg, Blauvelt and Pearl River.
The spree of break-ins has shaken the neighborhood. As Orangetown police continue their investigation in cooperation with surrounding police agencies, they have been reluctant to share details on their efforts with residents to avoid compromising the investigation.
Fearful of becoming victims of the burglars , residents have sought more information, exchanging e-mails on burglaries in nearby areas. A small group of them decided to hire Brosnan Risk Consultants, a private security firm founded by Patrick Brosnan, who also lives in the area.
Along with several colleagues with law enforcement backgrounds, Gervasi, a retired officer with the New York Police Department, has been assigned by the firm to patrol the area near Townline and Sickletown roads seven days a week. About 200 homes covered by the patrol routine are mostly in Orangetown, but some of them are in bordering Clarkstown.
Brosnan and his neighbor, Gerry Creagh, said that about two weeks ago, when their neighbors circulated information on career criminals spotted in their neighborhood, they were convinced that they should take some action.
A flier distributed in the area said that the two men stopped nearby had ties with a New Jersey criminal group known as the “James Bond” gang.
Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty would not comment on the circulated information because of the investigation.
Brosnan said his firm’s patrol members are armed but do not have the right to make arrests. Their main duty is to watch out for suspicious activities in the area. When they see unfamiliar cars during their patrol routine, they record license plate numbers for background checks, Brosnan said.
“We think police officers are doing an outstanding job. But this is an exceedingly difficult case,” said Brosnan, a retired NYPD detective. “We want, as their eyes and ears, to deter, detect, observe and report as homeowners.”
Neither Brosnan nor Creagh would reveal the price tag for the firm’s security service.
“The community retained Brosnan Risk Consultants. They are doing it below their cost as their service to the neighbors because he lives here,” Creagh said of Brosnan.
Creagh said he hadn’t yet completed the number of households that had committed to pay for the service.
“Until they write the check, you never know,” Creagh said, adding, “We have enough money. It’s funded.”
Some residents and officials expressed mixed feelings on hiring a security firm.
“Not everybody has the money to do that, and we’ve been paying a lot of taxes” to finance the Orangetown Police Department, said Town Board member Tom Diviny. “I don’t necessarily agree that it’s necessarily. … But it’s extra eyes, and if it makes people feel safer, I’m all for it.”
Jon Fortunato, another resident in the area, shared a similar sentiment.
“I applaud the effort. It’s nice that they are down here,” Fortunato said. “But I hope police can be down here more.”
Nulty said he would not comment on Orangetown residents’ hiring a security firm, other than saying, “They have the right to do that.”
“As long as they are operating within the premises of the law, we are not really concerned about that,” Nutly said.
But Nulty is definitely in support of having extra eyes and ears in the community.
On Wednesday night, the Police Department held a meeting to inform residents in the targeted area of how to launch neighborhood watch groups.
About 40 people attended the meeting and asked for tips to make them less vulnerable to burglars. Several people asked about installing surveillance cameras in their neighborhood .
Police officials shared their knowledge with residents. They repeatedly encouraged residents to call 911 whenever they see or hear things that appear to be out of the ordinary.
When residents’ questions went toward details on the burglary cases that might compromise the investigation, police officials declined to answer.
But mostly, residents appeared to be satisfied with the opportunities to speak with police face to face.
“I think the chief, the captain and other officers there did an excellent job. We are happy with the presentation, and we are happy with the information that was going out,” said Diviny, who attended the meeting along with his fellow Town Board member Denis Tory, Town Clerk Charlotte Madigan and Tax Receiver Robert Simon. “We know the police are doing a great job, but they weren’t communicating that to the residents, and that was the concern. But they did a great job in letting the community know that … ‘We are doing our job, and we will solve this burglary spree.’ “
source:lohud.com
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