NEW BERLIN – After the decision was made to keep the New Berlin Police Department, a new Officer-in-Charge has been hired with hopes of being a more community originated department.
According to New Berlin Police Department Officer-in-Charge David Kaminski, his goal is to get to know the New Berlin community, and inspire his officers to be more involved within the community.
As part of his goal, Kaminski said he will host a “Coffee with A Cop” event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 25, at Stewart’s on 5 North Main Street in the Village of New Berlin.
Interested individuals have a chance to ask questions, meet the new officer-in-charge, and learn more about joining the Town of New Berlin Police Department. He said the department will also be offering a kid’s bike give-away during the event.
“If you’re going to serve a community, do it right or don’t do it at all,” said Kaminski. “It’s my hope that people will come down to Stewart’s, have a cup of coffee, voice any concerns they have about local issues we can help with, and take a free chance to win a kid’s bike.”
“For those who might be interested in joining a police department, we will also have applications for employment as we are currently hiring.”
He said this community-based approach is his way of taking into consideration the needs of New Berlin while trying to make the police department better after starting about five weeks ago.
“I have 28 years of law enforcement experience, and most of it comes from the Utica Police Department,” he added. “I worked up the ranks, and specialized units, and made it to the rank of investigator, worked for New York State as a criminal investigator, and did some private sector security jobs as well.”
“I really enjoy police work, and I want to take some of my experience and bring it to New Berlin.”
Kaminski said part of his plan for the police department includes an active foot patrol that will walk throughout the business district of the Village of New Berlin where the community will have a chance to meet officers face-to-face; as well as added patrols in the South New Berlin community business.
He said thanks to combined efforts between the Town of New Berlin Supervisor and its board, along with the Unadilla Valley Superintendent, the Town of New Berlin Police Department will be returning to the school by filling the role of school resource officer at the Unadilla Valley School District.
“I really want to let the community know that their voice has been heard, we’re here now, and we’re headed in the right direction,” said Kaminski. “There have been concerns about speeding in the town and village, and we’re going to purchase mobile radar speed signs.”
“We’ll have the signs and they’ll be mobile so we can direct them to locations of concern.”
He said the department hopes to have the signs in the near future, and they are being paid for using available funding. He added that the town supervisor and the board worked hard to make the purchase happen, and the department appreciates their efforts.
Kaminski said he hopes to make improvements at the police station to help bring it into the modern era, and that he has personally donated time by rolling up his sleeves and painting to help reduce costs.
“We were fortunate to have some generous donations including new furniture for the department, and we greatly appreciate that,” he said. “Another goal of mine is to add more police training, that way our officers are up-to-date to provide the best service they can for our community.”
He added that the New Berlin Police Department is actively hiring full time, part time, and the department is interested in lateral transfers. He said they would like to have at least two to three full time officers, and a reserve of part-time officers.
Anyone interested in joining may reach out to the police department, attend the event on September 25, or visit its Facebook at The Town of New Berlin, NY Police Department for additional information.