Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced the formation of a new specialized strategic response team, set to be deployed across the county, which he said would provide an added layer of security and help keep communities safe.
“Our new strategic response team will be equipped with people who are experienced, who will be privy to intelligence and information on a real time basis,” Blakeman said, “to make sure that they have the information they need to make sure that our communities are safe.”
The team will be rolled out as the school year in Nassau County begins. While Blakeman said the initial purpose is for the monitoring of schools, the unit's responsibilities could expand to handle large public gatherings, such as a concert, a protest or increased crime activity in a community.
“They will be able to travel and have the flexibility to go to places where they are needed,” he said at a press conference at the Nassau County Police Department Center for Training and Intelligence.
Blakeman shared another measure the county would be taking; a $1.4 million investment into 100 license plate reading cameras equipped with artificial intelligence that will be bought by the county through asset forfeiture funds.
NCPD Commissioner Patrick Ryder praised both initiatives, arguing they demonstrated the lengths the county will go to “protect your kids,” and “make sure that they're safe.”
North Bellmore School District Superintendent Marie Testa, who was named president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents at the beginning of the month, said that the continued security measures introduced in schools is something that she and the council of superintendents “respect, appreciate and admire.”
“We have kept students safe together,” she said. “We have kept students happy to come to school together.”
