In light of previous difficulties experienced by the Brockport Police Department's evidence room, Acting Police Chief Douglas Ziegler has been implementing wide-sweeping changes. "We have spent considerable time modernizing and organizing the property room to bring it into compliance," he said. Ziegler credited Officers Mark Cyr and Michael DeToy with completing of the task.

The undertaking involved installing shelving and putting items on racks, rather than putting evidence in boxes. Accountability issues, he said, require the department to label each piece of evidence they obtain. "Everything needs to be cataloged and identified," he said.

Ziegler explained there is a lot of evidence that needs to be lawfully destroyed. The department, he said, is in possession of items that it should no longer be in possession of. "We have items that have been kept beyond the New York state guidelines," he explained. Included in the list of items that need to be destroyed are weapons and drug related paraphernalia.

Also underway in the police department is compliance with "general orders." General orders, Ziegler said, is the working operational guidelines the department should be following. "The general orders in the department are ancient," he said.

Ziegler indicated the Brockport Police Department has been researching the orders for other departments throughout Monroe County and implementing bits and pieces of them into the department's standard operating procedures. "It's an on-going project," he said.

In other police department news:

A bicycle patrol course will be presented to officers by the New York State Police on September 8 and 9, Ziegler said. Brockport's bike patrol had fallen by the wayside, he said, because of budget and overtime constraints and lack of interest by officers. "We have a couple of new officers on board who are interested in riding," he said. The officers interested in riding the bike patrol work the afternoon shift. Ziegler said that would be to the department's advantage to have a bicycle patrol on the streets in the late afternoon and early evening hours.

In order to be certified for bike patrol, officers will undergo a 32 hour training course, he said.