CALL FOR ACTION
Woerner wants Park Police re-established as own branch of law enforcement
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner issued a call to action to Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday morning, asking her to re-establish the state Park Police as its own branch of law enforcement.
Standing on the steps of the Hall of Springs at Saratoga State Park, Woerner (D-Round Lake) and members of the Police Benevolence Association (PBA), the police labor union, talked about how the Park Police is the state’s oldest law enforcement agency, but said at the moment are being sorely mishandled due to legislation put in place in 2019 by thenGov. Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo’s legislation took operational control of state parks away from Park Police and handed it over to
state police, as well as halting all forward movement on all Park Police officers’ current and future career paths.
“Since 2019, we have been suffering from elimination through attrition,” noted Frank McGarity, Associate Director of the New York State Park Police Sergeants’ Association for the PBA of New York State. “All transfers and promotions have been frozen, and we have lost 78 of our officers with no new hires. It feels like we’re being phased out.”
“The Park Police go beyond just keeping us safe,” Woerner commented, “they truly are ambassadors. I don’t think the public truly understands how badly this ‘quasi-merger’ between Park Police and state Police has diminished the careers of Park Police officers. It is under
Cuomo’s legislation took operational control of state parks away from Park Police and handed it over to state police, as well as halting all forward movement on all Park Police officers’ current and future career paths.
mining the career paths of many loyal officers.”
Woerner called on Hochul to eliminate Cuomo’s legislature and return operational control of the state’s parks to the Park Police, as well as to give all Park Police the same benefits and career paths that every other law enforcement agency currently enjoys — a 20-year retirement track instead of 25, access to the same level of resources, and fair pay. Hochul has stated that such steps should be taken, but has yet to act on her words.
“It’s time to let them do their jobs in the appropriate leadership structure,” Woerner said.
A job as a Park Police officer is one that should be very appealing — you get to work outdoors, drive a variety of vehicles such as snowmobiles, boats, and ATVs, and enjoy everything New York State’s parks has to offer, from hiking to summer concerts. The problem is, with no current chance of promotions, transfers, or pay raises, it’s harder and harder to attract new hires — assuming the agency is allowed to hire anyone at all.
“We pride ourselves on non-confrontational, nonviolent, voluntary compliance de-escalation techniques,” McGarity said. “A career as a Park Police officer should be an easy sell, but right now we can’t even guarantee that we’ll still be here five years from now.”
Current Park Police are also becoming very valuable targets for other law enforcement agencies, who are poaching them away to jobs with better benefits.
“We put our officers through 1100 hours of comprehensive basic training in our Academy,” explained Troy Caupain, Secretary Director of the state’s Park Police Association. “They learn so much more than any other law enforcement agency, because we teach them everything — working on the water, in a forest, every environment they might be in as a Park Police officer. That makes them valuable to other departments.
“We’ve had a lot of our officers tell us, ‘I love this job and I’d love to stay, but . . .’ When you’re in a job with no promotions, no raises, and no prospects of moving forward, it’s easy to move on. State Parks is an over $8 billion industry. We’re a very viable piece of the state economy, but our officers are not being shown that they’re valued.”
McGarity noted that as a result of losing so many officers and being unable to hire new ones, the current Park Police staff is stretched thin. There are currently only 16 officers in the entire Capital Region — nowhere near enough to handle security for a concert at SPAC or any other big event. They’ve called on help from State Police in the past, but that agency is shortstaffed as well.
“Park Police is currently suffering an attrition rate of 53% over five years,” commented PBA president Manny Vilar. “No business could operate at that rate.
It’s unsustainable.”
“There must be changes for us to succeed,” McGarity said. “Governor Hochul has announced a ’30 by ’30’ initiative, aiming to have 30% of law enforcement officers be female by 2030. We support her in this, but currently we are moving in the opposite direction. Why? We can’t hire anyone new, and we keep losing the officers we have, unable to replace them. We need action. We are glad Governor Hochul has spoken about this, but actions speak louder than words — and a lack of actions speaks loudest of all.
“We need autonomy and we need Cuomo’s 2019 legislation rescinded. We need operational control of the state parks. We must to everything we can to attract and retain new officers.”
When asked why it’s so important to have Park Police handling situations in state parks instead of State Police, Woerner replied, “Park Police know the parks they work in like the back of their hand. If you’re injured or in a dangerous situation, they can find you faster. When time is of the essence, you want someone who knows the terrain and is trained to handle it.”
“All we’re asking is to be treated at the same level as the state police — our officers need control over our own areas, the 20 year retirement plan, a pension, geographical pay scales, and benefits,” said PBA director of lieutenants and captains James Hy. “This could and should be, in this current climate of law enforcement, a destination job.”