There is a brand new state-of-the-art law enforcement academy in Niagara County. It's located on the campus of SUNY Niagara and is set to open in June. While Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti says he is excited about the new facility, he also says it's more difficult than ever to recruit people to join the police force.
Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti gave a tour of the new Law Enforcement Academy Monday afternoon. He says it will include new technology to help train future police officers for anything. "If you think of active shooters...any type of active shooter situation... you want to be able to train to clear those rooms to stop that threat," explains Filicetti. He says they will use reality based training to create the dangerous scenarios officers often respond to.
The new building will also have classrooms for the dozens of recruits who go through 6 months of training which he says includes, "a lot more focus and a lot more hours of training on deescalation. Obviously we want them to have the skills and again those defensive tactic skills have changed over the years to different tactics that are safer."
Training isn't the only thing that has changed over the years. Sheriff Filicetti says interest in joining law enforcement has dwindled. He explains, "Over the last 4 years we've seen a decline in the number of people applying for Deputy Sheriff Police Officer positions." He says there are a number of reasons for the decline, "and I think part of that is what's portrayed in the media. Part of that is it puts a negative light on what we do and I for 31 years have been saying this is the best job in the world and I still truly believe that and I think some people in New York State, even some of our politicians in New York State need to remember the value of law enforcement and start putting some importance back into that our side of the equation."
He also talked about how tragedies...like the one in Syracuse Sunday where two officers were shot and killed on the job...impacts the force. "When we sign up for this job we know that it's a dangerous job but also when you see something like this happen where two officers are shot and killed it certainly resonates with my people here. I actually have a deputy that works here that was an officer in Syracuse and he knew the officer. I mean it hits home," The Sheriff explains.
He says it also hits close to home because the officers were dealing with what's becoming a more common situation for police here, too. "It's always a difficult situation on a traffic stop and especially as I heard earlier the vehicle took off which is something that we've dealt with more and more," says Sheriff Filicetti. He says while they work hard at the new facility to train the police force of the future, he hopes more is done to help protect the new recruits. "I'll keep it real simple you can start punishing criminals again in New York State. That's what you can do to make it stop," he says.
