By JOSEPH KELLARD
Dubbed the "trained eyes and ears" of the community and Nassau's police department, the A.P. consists of citizens in their communities who pledge to serve time and assist police officers without being paid.
"Just the presence of the police uniform and marked cars patrolling our streets can help to prevent burglaries, and acts of vandalism and other problems," said Luis Bell, a Nassau County police officer who acts as a liaison to the A.P.
The Oceanside unit was born the year after Nassau County established the Auxiliary service in 1951. In those years, Smith said, Oceanside had approximately 40 to 50 members, and 15 years ago it still had over 30. Today, the unit has just four members and has been only "semi-active" in recent years, Smith added.
"The unit has always been in Oceanside. It was never dissolved, but through attrition, whether men moved away or they got too old or they didn't have the time or they volunteer time for other activities...the unit has come down in size," Smith said.
The A.P. officers patrol at night in marked police cars equipped with two way radios and are linked with their communications unit at Nassau County Police Headquarters in Mineola. In case of life-threatening emergencies they have the ability to communicate directly to 911. They also assist the police with traffic and crowd control at local events.
A new A.P. officer is required to serve a minimum of 120 hours a year, which amounts to 10 hours a month. As a person goes up in rank, his or her required hours increase. The required hours for a sergeant is 132; a lieutenant must serve 144; captains and above serve 156.
In addition to helping build up the number of volunteers in Oceanside, Smith seeks to bring the unit back up to these standards, he said, but in recent years each officer has put in the number of hours he felt he could put in, which has been unsatisfactory for what the unit wants to achieve.
An Oceanside resident since 1966, a former police officer in Maryland for two years, and a promotional advertiser by profession, Smith was designated commanding officer of the Oceanside unit in November. For almost four years prior to this new post, he served in the Five Towns' unit, where last year he volunteered over 800 hours.
Smith is willing to put in as many hours as he did with the Five Towns' unit, and he expects the same attitude from both new and long-time volunteers.
"Hopefully the new members we get in will feel the same way, and not just to come on to carry a badge and an ID card," he said. "They must meet the minimum hours. We're going to try to get the patrol car out more often by spreading out the new people who can go out on different nights. That way the car will hopefully be out every night during the week," he said.
Frank Alfieri, a resident of Oceanside since 1968, has been an A.P. officer in the Oceanside unit since 1984. Originally, Alfieri, 63, joined the A.P. after a girl in Oceanside escaped being raped, an incident that considerably raised his concern about safety in his town.
"I come out here because I like to help out the community," said Alfieri, a retired teamster who works security at Newsday in Melville.
Applicants for the A.P. must be at least 18 to 65 years of age, a U.S. citizen, a Nassau County resident and have a high school or equivalency diploma. They are required to complete an extensive training course given by Nassau County Police Department. During their training period at the police academy, applicants are able to patrol with a member of the unit they look to join. Upon graduation, they receive a diploma and begin their patrol.
For information about the Oceanside Auxiliary Police, call 522-6131.
