“This is a model that not every police department follows,” Skrynecki continued. “This is something we’ve developed here in Nassau and a lot of police departments are copying our model.”

There are 170 post cars in the county. Posts 103 to 106 are stationed in East Meadow.

Heroin a major problem

Heroin use continues to afflict Nassau County, Skrynecki said. Since the New Year, there have been 21 deaths to heroin overdose in the county, including one in East Meadow.
Narcan, or Naloxone, an opiate-reversal agent that prevents deadly overdose, is in the process of being added to every police car. Typically, police arrive at emergencies more quickly than ambulances.

Nassau County distributes Narcan kits to residents who attend training seminars, where they learn how to administer the drug from professionals. Gonsalves said she would be eager to bring a Narcan seminar to East Meadow if she felt there is enough interest.

Skrynecki said police also utilize social media to prevent crime, adding that a surprising number of people will admit criminal activity — including drug use — on the Internet. “We have people who are taking a look at tweets, and all kinds of stuff on YouTube,” he said.

Top problems in local precincts

1st Precinct Commanding Officer Daniel Flanagan said that commercial burglaries have been a problem recently in the precinct, especially in Uniondale, Freeport and Roosevelt.

In the 3rd Precinct, Commanding Officer Sean McCarthy said that occupied burglaries — robberies that occur when homeowners are asleep — have plagued the Salisbury community. He said there were about 20 such break-ins from Sept. 12 to Dec. 18 of 2013. By utilizing the Strat-Com method, McCarthy said police arrested two men, one from New Cassel and another Westbury, earlier this year and the crimes stopped almost completely, leading McCarthy to believe the pair committed most, if not all of the burglaries.