Nassau Police Unveil New Unit, Technology Ahead Of Schools Opening

MINEOLA, NY — With schools opening next week, Nassau County offiicials have announced a new effort to address safety in schools and elsewhere.

The Police Strategic Response Unit will be deployed across the county to provide an added layer of security.

"It will be equipped with people who are experienced, privy to intelligence and information on a real-time basis, to make sure that our communities are safe," County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.

State-of-the-art technology using artificial intelligence "will be able get us information that we wouldn't have been able to have before," Blakeman said. "We will be one of the first departments in the country to use that technology."

He cited AI will not only read license plates, but will be able to "ascertain, based on information that we give them, what cars have entered into the county."

Blakeman stressed that the new $1.4 million technology is not at a cost to residents.

"[It] will not be purchased at taxpayer expense," he said during a Wednesday news conference.

Instead, money from asset forfeiture funds will be used.

"Come Tuesday morning, when the majority of our schools open up, these resources, along with the 177 cop cars that are out there, will be mandated to visit a school every single day," said Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. "They will walk the grounds of the school. They will understand the environment they police."

Ryder said officers will get familiarized with the schools in the event they have to respond an emergency.

"This is the length that we're going to protect your kids," Ryder said.

Marie Testa, president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, said the safety and security of the students are of the utmost importance.

"There is no doubt in my mind the commitment that the police officers in every unit in the Nassau County Police Department have for the students of North Bellmore, for the students of Nassau County and for the students across 56 districts in this county.”