Message From The Chief of Police
As I was named Chief of Police in July 2021, I was taking over an agency that was in a transition. We were transitioning from a predominately senior department to a newly hired younger department. With this change came some challenges, most importantly depending on officers with little experience to train those with no experience. The department saw ten retirements in the first half of the year in 2021, which resulted in a loss of 168 years of service and experience. This, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic that was still affecting our community and department. The challenges were real, but the members of the department stepped up and continue to be resilient towards anything that comes their way.
As a department we continue to move forward and serve the residents of the City of Auburn with compassion and respect. However, we still struggle with our recruiting efforts. The department is not fully staffed and the number of individuals signing up for exams continues to decline. Our moto is and will always be to hire the best qualified candidates for the position of police officer and we will not settle for less than that to fill the open positions. The residents of this community deserve the best officers we can hire and train to protect the community.
Communication and transparency with the community in which we serve is still at the forefront of our organization. More now than ever the public want to know the Who? What? Why? And Where? of our department. I feel that it is my job as the Chief of Police to communicate with the public and encourage our officers to do the same. The feedback we get from the community will allow us to better serve the members of the community and maintain the trust they have in their police officers.
In 2023 our goal is to become Accredited with State of New York. What does this mean? Agencies must meet a set of standards in three categories: Administration, Training and Operations. Accreditation provides formal recognition that an agency meets or exceeds expectations of quality; demonstrates that the agency performs in a professional manner, has formalized policies in place to govern its operational practices and procedures, and that its employees contribute to the agency's mission and know what is expected of them. With this in mind, it has been a daunting multiyear plan and implementation to move forward with this task. By years end, we hope to accomplish this milestone.
In closing, I want the public to know that members of the Auburn Police Department, who serve our community do so with professionalism, compassion, and respect each and every day. It is with honor that I am allowed to be the Police Chief of such a great organization. I would like to thank Mayor Quill, City Manager Dygert, and members of the City Council for always being supportive of the Auburn Police Department.
James T. Slayton, Chief of Police
Mission Statement
To enhance the quality of life in the City of Auburn by working cooperatively with the citizenry to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, and provide for a safe environment.
Values
The values of the Auburn Police Department begin with the common understanding that all citizens shall be treated with Human Dignity. Regardless of race, social class, gender, religion, background or beliefs, each individual we serve will be given Respect, Excellence of service, Compassion and understanding, while we promise to always maintain our Integrity through collaborative Teamwork and Accountability by means of a strategic partnership with the community members that we serve.
Respect: The Auburn Police Department views the law and the community as the source of its authority and will faithfully and without bias or prejudice honor this commitment.
Excellence: The Auburn Police Department strives for distinct and superior service between our membership and the partnership we share with the community we serve.
Compassion: The Auburn Police Department strives to show respect for and be sensitive to all citizens and their problems.
Integrity: The Auburn Police Department believes in honesty, consistency and transparency in every interaction with the public that we serve.
Teamwork: The Auburn Police Department believes that each citizen must become involved in efforts to solve their own problems. We must work as a team in order to accomplish mutual goals for our community.
Accountability: Members of the Auburn Police Department are held to the highest standards of accountability to ourselves, our fellow officers, our administration, and those that we serve.
GOALS FOR 2024
1) Goal: Begin the certification process for the Emergency Response Team
Objective: The Emergency Response Team (ERT) is made of specially trained and qualified members who respond to critical incidents involving violent situations, disasters, and other high-risk scenarios. In conjunction with our NYS accreditation program, we are seeking ERT certification in an effort to ensure our ERT policies, procedures, and training provide greater administrative and operational effectiveness, while also delivering the best possible service to our citizens. We will work with the Division of Criminal Justice Services and review the requirements and guidelines of getting our Emergency Response Team certified, and begin the process of adhering to such requirements.
2) Goal: Relocate ERT vehicles and equipment
Objective: In an effort to improve efficiency, and reduce response times to emergencies, our agency will be relocating ERT equipment and their vehicle to the old fire station bay, next door to us. The bay will need to be renovated, and new lockers and storage will need to be purchased for ERT usage.
3) Goal: Revitalize our recruitment efforts to attract more applicants
Objective: Over the past several years, the number of applicants for a police officer, with our agency, has steadily declined. With the intention of attracting more applicants and interest in our profession, our agency will be strengthening our efforts of engaging potential candidates. We are looking to utilize our Drone units and FARO machine to take a new recruitment video and will contract with a video company to edit the video for the advertisement.
4) Goal: Distribute public survey
Objective: As in recent years, our department is looking to send out community surveys to gauge how our agency is performing. It will give the public an opportunity to provide feedback on any
issues with their neighborhood, or our department, and highlight what they would like to see improvement on. The responses from the surveys will then be collected and analyzed. The survey should be expected to be distributed in 3Q 2024.
5) Goal: Emergency Vehicle Operation Course (EVOC) Training
Objective: Our department is seeking to organize and implement a comprehensive driving refresher course for all police officers. Our certified EVOC instructor will make contact with NYS ENCON police to schedule a course on the Fulton, NY EVOC track, and will also create a digital lesson plan/ training for all officers. The course will reinforce officer competency in driving under a variety of emergency response calls and situations.