Brockport Police Chief requests changes

Brockport's Police Chief Daniel Varrenti requested some changes be implemented as part of the village's annual re-organizational meeting.

Towing and storage fees and procedures, charges for police reports and policies on fingerprinting were some of the topics discussed at the July 15 meeting. "I think we should go out to bid and get the lowest priced, reputable towing company to deal with towing and storage of vehicles," he said. "This would free up our officers' time and would reduce our liability issues with stored vehicles."

Mayor Josephine Matela said Varrenti's ideas on changing the towing policies and protocols should be looked into and may be considered for changes. "We should look into these ideas further and bring them back to a future meeting," she said.

The decision was made to waive fees that are normally charged to individuals seeking copies of police reports. "The copies should be free," Varrenti said. "It only adds insult to injury when a victim, suspect, or a witness mentioned in a report is forced to page for a copy of that report," he said.

Varrenti also said the police department should not be a revenue base. "I don't feel comfortable with the officers having to collect and track funds received."

Board members agreed to waive the fees for copies of police reports to affected individuals.

Also discussed were the procedures that are in place for fingerprinting of individuals. A $15 fee has normally been collected at the police department for the privilege. "With many individuals for their jobs, fingerprinting is a routine procedure," Varrenti said. "But once again, we are handling cash and the requests take an officer off the street to perform the service."

Trustee Peter DeToy said he thinks that offering fingerprinting to village residents free of charge is a sign of good will. "It's a good service to offer our residents," he said.

DeToy proposed having non-residents get a receipt from the clerk's office indicating they had paid their $15 fee, take the receipt to the police department and have the fingerprinting performed. "Maybe they should have to make an appointment, but having to get a receipt from the clerk's office keeps the fingerprinting being done to business hours," he said.

Village officials agreed to look into updating procedures on the fingerprinting and towing issues Varrenti had raised.

Varrenti also requested village officials get his name on to some sort of list that would mandate random drug testing. "In the wake of what happened in Orleans County, you can see that problems like that can happen anywhere," he said.

Matela said they would research his request.