OSSINING, N.Y. (AP) -- Police officers will be knocking on doors and introducing themselves to residents of the Town of Ossining this week under a new program that gives each of the 5,500 people a designated cop.
Through the Your Cop program, a patrol officer will be assigned to one of 10 neighborhoods in the town’s unincorporated area and will be responsible for up to 230 residences each. Two sergeants will be in charge of the 72 businesses in the area.
The idea is for residents and business owners to contact the officer in a non-emergency.
“This is a way to provide more personalized service,’' said police Chief Ken Donato. “Oftentimes we hear that a resident didn’t want to bother us with non-emergency concerns. This is our way of saying we are here for you. We want the officers to be able to place a face with a name.’'
Besides regular police duties, an officer will be responsible for ensuring that quality-of-life issues in the neighborhood like potholes or broken street lights, for example _ are addressed.
Donato said the program should not add to an officer’s hours or the department’s $1.2 million annual budget.
“I think it’s great,’' said Officer Vincent Raigini. “It gives me an opportunity to meet more than 200 people and to be more hands-on.’'
Resident Ed Muller told The Journal News, “This is a step in the right direction _ as long as the officer’s not coming over for dinner every other week.’'