Ryan delivers $375,000 for the creation of a new unit to boost public safety; unit will be concentrated on addressing areas with chronic crime and increasing community outreach

Poughkeepsie Police Chief Cavaliere: “This is going to be a tremendous impact for the entire Town of Poughkeepsie community”

PatRayan Congressman Pat Ryan Delivers Funding for Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department to Create New Community Policing Unit, Bolster Public Safety POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Congressman Pat Ryan announced that he secured $375,000 for the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department to create a new Community Policing Unit dedicated to community outreach, addressing chronic crime issues like larceny, and remediating quality of life issues within the community. Three new officers will be hired and dedicated solely to the new unit, which will also build the capacity of the Department’s current 83 officers for emergency response and crime prevention.

“Our local law enforcement officers work tirelessly to keep our communities safe, and I’m pushing every day to get them the support they need. The new Community Policing Unit will bolster the department’s ability to address chronic crime, increase community outreach, and significantly strengthen public safety in Poughkeepsie,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “Too often, our smaller police departments don’t get the resources they need – so we are fixing that here today. And I’ll keep fighting to deliver for law enforcement across the Hudson Valley.”

The new Community Policing Unit will allow three new officers to respond directly to community needs and quality of life concerns, conduct comprehensive community outreach, address chronic crimes issues such as larceny, implement evidence based community policing methods, and focus enforcement on the Town’s Main Street corridor. The hiring of the three new officers will also build the capacity of the Department’s current 83 officers for emergency response and crime prevention.

The federal funding comes from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant programs. Today’s announcement comes on the heels of Congressman Ryan securing a $400,000 COPS grant for the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department to implement a crisis intervention team. Congressman Ryan also recently introduced an amendment to the House’s Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act to increase the funding for the COPS grant programs by $5 million. The additional funding would help allow the COPS Office to increase its grant programs that support local law enforcement and community safety initiatives across the country. In September, Congressman Ryan secured a $300,000 COPS grant for the Middletown Police Department to upgrade the Department’s technology investments. Congressman Ryan also cosponsors the Invest to Protect Act of 2023 to extend COPS grant opportunities to smaller police departments as well.

Congressman Ryan has long advocated for increased funding for law enforcement and first responders, including making repeated calls for increased funding to combat fentanyl trafficking and cosponsoring legislation to establish a grant program to provide additional assistance to local law enforcement agencies. Last October, Congressman Ryan joined with local law enforcement to announce the passage of the Invest to Protect Act and that over $2.6 million in federal funds were secured for local law enforcement agencies through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program