Dozens of residents and several county legislators rallied last week outside the 5th Precinct in Elmont, protesting County Executive Ed Mangano’s plan to transform four of the county’s eight police precincts — including the 5th, which covers West Hempstead and Lakeview — into “community policing centers.”

The proposal, announced Jan. 30, which Mangano said would save the county $20 million per year, differs dramatically from Mangano’s original plan, proposed last October, to close two precincts and realign the boundaries of the remaining six. Under the most recent proposal, the 4th and 5th precincts would be combined and the existing 5th Precinct headquarters would no longer handle administrative paperwork or criminal processing, though officers would remain on duty at all times.

The 1st Precinct, in Baldwin, the 6th, in Manhasset, and the 8th, in Levittown, would also become community policing centers. The 2nd Precinct, in Woodbury, the 3rd, in Williston Park, the 4th, in Hewlett, and the 7th, in Seaford, would remain normal precincts.

If passed by the County Legislature, the plan would be the county’s first realignment of precinct buildings in more than 40 years.

POP cops
According to Mangano, the plan would not affect residents’ safety. The county’s 177 patrol cars would be kept in their current neighborhoods, more officers would be assigned to Problem-Oriented Policing, or POP, units and the four community policing centers would increase the efficiency of the county police force. “Keeping residents safe is my number one priority,” he said.

Due to county staffing changes and layoffs in 2011, POP units — essentially community-affairs units — were reduced, their officers reassigned to other units or special patrols. Residents reacted to the changes with outrage, saying that POP units are tremendous assets to communities like West Hempstead, where officers know community leaders by name.