The New York State
Association of Auxiliary Police
P.O. Box 351
Massapequa, NY 11758
(516) 795-4378

Glenn J. Kearney
President

Tony D’Angelo
Vice President

Jeremiah E. Dunne
Treasurer

Michael Stewart
Secretary

Seth Gilman
Sgt. at Arms

George Walsh
Region 1

Larry Gluckman
Region 2

Jason Lukasiewicz
Region 3

Vacant
Region 4

Phil Andrews
Region 5

Bryan Barish
Region 6

WHY WE NEED NEW LEGISLATION FOR CLASSIFICATION AS VOLUNTEER PEACE OFFICERS

1.             The Auxiliary Police come under The Civil Defense Act of 1950.During that time, they were used to direct traffic to the air raid shelters and to control the people at those shelters.This is NOT what we are used for today. The duties and activities of auxiliary police vary considerably. In upstate communities, auxiliary police direct traffic at parades, fairs, special events and church crossings. They check vacation homes, participate in emergency rescues and searches for missing persons, ride as second man in patrol cars and perform administrative work for police departments. Downstate, and in larger cities, auxiliary police patrol trains, subway platforms and bus terminals.They perform neighborhood watches and patrols and assist police in crowd control. Auxiliary police educate the public in crime prevention techniques, engrave valuable property with the owner’s driver’s license or I.D. number, patrol the streets and report illegal activities to the appropriate law enforcement agency.  They check doors and windows to make sure they are locked and that no one has or can gain entry illegally, and patrol in squad cars in an effort to reduce vandalism.  These activities, although very important, are not covered by The Civil Defense Act of 1950 or by the CPL. Some Counties & Cities have feared the liability so much, that they disbanded their Auxiliary Police Programs in the late 1970’s. 

2.            Many towns have appointed Volunteer Special Police pursuant to Town Law Section 158. These Volunteers have duties very similar to Auxiliary Police but operate under town law rather then civil defense law. This proposed legislation would consolidate Auxiliary Police, Special Police, Reserve Police, and many other uniformed volunteer members of law enforcement agencies within the State of New York. We hope to be able to define these volunteers as one group for the purpose of creating and supporting legislation that will help recruit and protect uniformed volunteers in law enforcement agencies.

3.             The Auxiliary Police are only considered Limited Peace Officers during a declared emergency or authorized drill.  It is imperative, however, that the Auxiliary Police have the same statuary protection of being a Peace Officer while on duty that other unformed services have.
Auxiliary Police officers drive cars that resemble Police Cars & wear similar uniforms, but many do not have the same protective equipment a police officer would have to protect himself.

4.             Auxiliary Police DO NOT have a Benevolent Law like The Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law and the Volunteer Ambulance Workers’ Benefit Law, and we feel we deserve to have the same protection they receive.
                The NYS Workers’ Compensation law does not treat all Volunteers equally. Auxiliary Police are considered unpaid employees. Our salary is Zero.
              The Volunteer Firefighters’ and Volunteer Ambulance Workers’ Benefits Laws provide cash benefits and/or medical care for volunteer members who are injured or become ill in the line of duty. Recognizing the unselfish service of volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers, laws designed to protect such volunteers who are injured, or who become ill, in the line of duty, were enacted in 1957 and 1989, respectively.
                The local political subdivision pays for this insurance, and cannot require the volunteer member to contribute to the cost of coverage. Weekly cash benefits and medical care are paid by the subdivision’s insurance carrier, in accordance with the applicable law. The Workers’ Compensation Board is a state agency that administers these laws, and if disputes arise, adjudicates them through a quasi-judicial proceeding.
                In a volunteer firefighters' or ambulance workers' benefits case, no one party is determined to be at fault. The amount that a claimant receives is not decreased by his/her carelessness, nor increased by the company’s fault. A volunteer member loses his/her right to benefits if the injury results solely from his/her intoxication from alcohol or drugs, or from the intent to injure him/herself or someone else.

5.             Not all Auxiliary Police have the same training and standards – a uniform system of operations and training would help to solidify procedures, rules and regulations, etc.

6.             There are other volunteers in Law Enforcement that do similar work and need to be included in this piece of legislation; namely, Special Police in the various counties of upstate New York, Reserve Police, SPCA, SPCC, Schoharie Tactical Search and Rescue Squad, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Reserve Force and The Westchester County Public Safety Emergency Force—to name only a few.

7.             This new legislation would help to create a proposed minimum standard with which all units would need to comply in order to reap the benefits that will, hopefully, be gained with this legislation. The benefits can act as incentive for the various forces to voluntarily comply with the proposed minimum standards.

8.             Obviously, this legislation would help with the recruitment and retention of able-bodied men and women to the Auxiliary Police and other similar forces.

9.             In many instances, the Auxiliary Police are put in harms way and considering today’s problems with Homeland Security, it is imperative that we get our communities involved in the safety of their homes.

10.           This legislation should also include assistance in the aid and training of the various volunteer forces so that the local police departments can best utilize them. The new law should also have built into it the ability of the NYS DCJS to oversee that the standards are being met and maintained.

11.           Lastly, and in all due respect, it is almost ludicrous to expect a viable and modern force existing today and providing tremendous aid to the various communities in which they serve, to work under the jurisdiction of a law created prior to 1950.