Peace Officer Program (2003 LGAA)

Village of Lake George (Winner)
County: Warren County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (518) 668-5771

Faced with rising costs for its Police Department, the Village Board voted to merge with the Warren County Sheriff's Department in 1988. A decline in problems during the past decade, the installation of traffic lights, and innovative training of the Sheriffs, led to a reduction in summer staffing.

While the reduced coverage had proven adequate for most seasons, there seemed to be a lack of enforcement of many of the village ordinances or local laws such as littering, open containers, vandalism, and noise. The mayor and the County Sheriff collaborated with criminal justice professors of Adirondack Community College to create a "Peace Officer Program" for the village to be filled by students from the college. Nine Peace Officer positions were filled and the students were trained through a NYS Certification Program Training School. These students also had a local training session, learned the village streets, met the merchants and residents, and were given procedures to write appearance tickets for offenders. The total budget for the entire first season was only $40,000, with a cost savings of over $250,000. This program supplies the village with fully trained personnel, an increased presence on the streets and has raised the quality of life of visitors and residents, while offering the students a valuable learning experience to equip them for a future in law enforcement.