Great Neck’s fragmented policing system, with some villages having their own departments and other relying on Nassau County police for law enforcement, could potentially cause disparities in response times for 911 calls – but due to the Nassau County Police Department’s policy against releasing those figures, it is difficult to tell.
Village police departments in Kensington, Lake Success and Great Neck Estates all estimate average response times of two minutes or under. Nassau County police declined to release response estimates for Great Neck’s former 6th Precinct, citing differences in call priorities and inconsistencies in how officers report response times.
“I have been advised that there are many contributing factors associated with response times and that is the reason why the department really does not comment on it,” wrote NCPD detective Vincent Garcia in an e-mail.
Responsibility for policing Great Neck is divided between village departments and the NCPD.
In Kings Point, Kensington, Lake Success and Great Neck Estates, village police handle day-to-day patrolling and police work, with the NCPD contributing specialized assistance including homicide, robbery and canine squads.
In Great Neck’s other villages and unincorporated areas, the NCPD’s 3rd precinct – which incorporated Great Neck’s 6th precinct in a consolidation scheme last summer – is responsible for law enforcement.
Great Neck Estates Chief John Garbedian estimated a response time of between 30 seconds and two minutes, Kensington Chief Michael Conlon said his units respond within a minute or two and Lake Success Chief William Lang estimated a two-minute average for a burglar alarm, depending on traffic conditions.
The villages are more sparsely populated and have much less crime than the 3rd Precinct as a whole. The 3rd Precinct reported 435 burglaries from the end of 2011 through mid December 2012. By comparison, Kings Point with a population of just over 5,000 reported eight burglaries last year.
And villages with police departments devote a high proportion of their spending to police salaries. Kings Point spent $3.9 million of its $5.15 million payroll on police compensation in 2012, according to the Empire Center for New York State Policy. And Kensington spent 89.8 percent of its $1.18 million in payroll on police compensation.
Villages pay hefty salaries to top officials in their departments. Kings Point Commissioner John Miller took home $242,000 last year, including base salary and back pay awarded as a result of arbitration, according to the Empire Center. By comparison, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly’s base salary was $205,180 last year.
Officials in those villages say village police departments provide valuable services to their communities, including a strong crime deterrent, dedicated service to residents and high levels of responsiveness.
Miller could not be reached for comment.
“We get there so fast it’s not an issue in this village,” said Garbedian.
Lake Success’ quick responses are due to the department’s use of “minimum manning” to ensure police coverage of the 1.9 square mile village, Lang said.
“The village departments – you have a smaller jurisdiction, and we’re able to respond accordingly,” said Lang. “There’s always someone in the area.”
The village police handle all day-to-day police work, said Lang, with the NCPD providing specialized support and personnel when needed.
Conlon gave a similar estimate for the Kensington’s department’s response time, and said that his force encourages residents to wire their home-alarm systems to directly contact his department in order to speed up response to possible break-ins.
“The longest it would take us to get to a call is two minutes. Usually it’s within a minute or two minutes,” said Conlon.
The NCPD’s response times to the former 6th precinct improved last year, wrote Garcia in an e-mail, but the department does not give out specific estimates.
One reason for that policy is the department’s prioritization of calls, which can lead to delays in less urgent 911 calls while units deal with critical matters, according to Garcia.
“Higher priority calls may go out immediately where a lower priority may be delayed a bit if it is busy,” he wrote. “ Since there are generally more lower priority calls, this will mess up the average.”
Response call figures can also be made inaccurate if officers do not enter their actions in the department’s computerized reporting system or if multiple units respond to the same call, Garcia said.
