NYS State Police: Your Local Private Security Firm
A strange thing happened after a windstorm a couple of weeks ago. I saw a New York State Police car show up at my neighbor's camp. The trooper got out, and carried into the nearby woods the fairly large top of a tree that had fallen in front of the building. It took him four or five trips to get all the branches into the woods. When he was done, he climbed back into his car and drove away.
So what was the State Trooper doing clearing my neighbor's yard of blowdown? Turns out, my neighbor is one of many part-time residents in the region who get New York State Police protection for seasonal camps as a part of the State Police's Posted Property Program. A program, that "has been around longer than anyone currently with our agency can remember," according to a State Police spokesperson. Homes so designated are posted with the sign you see here.
"As a service to the public, we post and inspect summer homes, summer camps and similar buildings that are unoccupied from October 1 to May 1," I was told in an e-mail, "this merely entails occasional checks of the property when a trooper is on patrol in the area of the property."
The next time I saw a trooper make a stop at the cabin across the way (he was checking the door handle), I asked why he cleared that downed treetop. He told me he had cleared the debris because he didn't want the house to appear unoccupied. He also told me that he stops every time he patrols the area - I've seen him show up every few days, and no doubt have missed a few of his visits.
According to the State Police spokesperson, the agency does not post buildings located in villages that have an organized police departments, buildings that are not secure, or summer motels, hotels or other commercial property. Presumably they are required to protect their own property by using a local security firm.
I suspect the State Police keep the program pretty hush-hush. After all, it wouldn't take too many folks taking advantage of their free home security program to keep police too busy for speed traps or safety belt road blocks.
According to the State Police, property owners who want their tax supported local security services between October and May should send a letter to their local Troop Commander and include the following information:
—the exact location of the property
—the owner's name, winter address and a phone number where they can be contacted in an emergency, and
—if there is a caretaker, their name, address and phone number(s)
Oh . . . and don't forget to call the security folks in town and let them know you've found someone better—someone who actually keeps the yard clear, and carries a gun.
7 Comments:
This is good preventative police work and is far less expensive than dealing with homeowners who have experienced crimes. Preventing these crimes of opportunity, makes the entire community safer.
Anonymous,
Do you have an numbers to back up your claim?
How many camp break-ins are there in the region?
How many camps are being intensively watched?
What is the cost of that increased surveillance?
What is the cost in lost jobs for local home security companies?
I'd say we need some of those answers before we can decide if it's a taxpayer funded scam, or a legitimate use of our money.
John:
Vacant homes are entitled to police protection and as you've discovered, the State Police have a program to do just that. They don't keep it "hush-hush" as you suggest, rather, as you pointed out, they post signs on the properties involved in the program.
The owners of these homes pay the same taxes on their properties as full time residents. They patronize the same local businesses as full time residents. They aren't getting something free and the program is hardly a "scam" as your post suggest.
Of course, you are entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. I think this kind of program, which exists in many rural, suburban and urban areas, is a good use of police time and serves to protect ALL homes and homeowners. Far better than the rather narrow focus of a trooper sitting on the Northway for hours.
If it's fair and protects all homes why hasn't a trooper stopped by my house to clear the blown down in my yard?
I pay taxes too.
BTW, I talked with a different trooper, off the record and casually, and he told me they all hate the program.
It's no proof of anything, but neither are claims without evidence that this "service" does anything except damage the prospects of local home security firms.
As an owner of a seasonal camp I'm happy to hear about this, and will be writing to the local state police barracks! I would have never bothered to contract with a local security firm for a little camp like ours, so no money is being kept from another business.
And I tend to agree with Anonymous that it would benefit the whole community even just to have the trooper making visits to the general area. While our camp is seasonal, the area leading to it is not, and yet because it's not really part of any real town I'm sure cops are few and far between in that area.
And to be honest I can't help but think it's a better use of police than giving out tickets on the Northway. I'm sure they do hate it though. It's a lot easier to sit by the side of the road in a car with your radar on than to be picking up branches in front of a camp.
As another point, if owners of seasonal property are less apt to be vandalized or broken into in the off season, that is a boon to everyone. After all, if a person owns a cabin that is broken into they might then badmouth the area overall and that wouldn't be good for tourism; conversely if you tell people what a great job the local state police do in keeping an eye on your camp, it might encourage others to buy in the Adirondacks, benefiting those who are selling their camps by raising property values. Word of mouth does matter.
At any rate, thanks for posting this, it was very informative.
I own a business in downtown Saranac Lake and occasionally I find a card stuck in the door jam of my shop saying the village police had checked it sometime overnight. Do I appreciate that?... you bet I do!
I'm going to guess (I acknowledge that I don't know any details about this program) that the State Police patrols in an area that has one of these seasonal camp watches also keeps an eye out for anything unusual other than on the specific property. Areas that have seasonal camps are prime for break-ins since there is usually a lower residency during the winter months. John - I would think you'd be appreciative knowing a State Trooper was stopping around your neighborhood occasionally to check on things.
Mark, Saranac Lake
I'm glad John brought this up, and its a timely piece given the state's current fiscal crisis. Tolerance of programs like this is why our taxes are so damn high and why we're in the current mess we're in.
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