By Hank Russell
Governor Kathy Hochul visited the Village of Garden City Police Department on October 15 to highlight more than $21 million in state investments that are modernizing law enforcement technology and equipment across Long Island’s 378 law enforcement agencies.
The visit included a tour and demonstration featuring the department’s state-of-the-art technology purchased with the state’s law enforcement technology grants. According to the governor’s office, the state’s investments in public safety have contributed to a 14% decline in reported crime on Long Island, while shooting deaths reported by the Nassau County Police Department decreased 75%.
“The safety of New Yorkers is my number one priority. That is why I’ve dedicated resources to ensure our law enforcement teams have access to modern tools and advanced technology that enables them to fight crime and the evolving threat landscape,” Hochul said. “These efforts are delivering real progress and making communities safer across the state — and I will continue to support our local police departments, sheriffs and law enforcement partners as they step up to protect New Yorkers day in and day out.”
On Long Island, the Village of Garden City Police Department utilized $465,000 in law enforcement technology funding to purchase a Skydio X10 Drone and to implement a modern computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system both in the department’s headquarters and patrol vehicles that enables officers to respond to dispatch calls more efficiently. For example, traditional 911 calls utilize cell tower signals that do not provide an accurate location for the caller or location of the emergency. CAD technology allows officers to use a caller’s cell phone to locate them much more accurately, even if the individual is moving.
This technology also provides a Records Management System (RMS) as part of the modern CAD, allowing the police department to use integrated data to identify patterns of incidents and implement more targeted policing. A full breakdown of Long Island agencies that received law enforcement technology grants is available online.
Hochul also highlighted the latest crime statistics reported by the Garden City Police Department and the largest police departments in Nassau and Suffolk counties. In Garden City, index crime decreased 17%, and property crime was down 16%, when comparing January through July 2025 to the same seven months in 2024.
Index crime and violent crime reported by the Nassau County Police Department and the Suffolk County Police Department each declined 14% when comparing the first eight months of 2025 to the same time in 2024. A breakdown of the data is available online.
“This vital support empowers our law enforcement agencies to better serve the residents and visitors of our village,” Garden City Police Commissioner Kenneth Jackson said.
Garden City Mayor Ed Finneran said, “The administration’s grant provided the necessary resources allowing the GCPD to enhance three specific strategies. These improvements resulted in our PD markedly improving its response time to many different scenarios throughout the village.”
The Nassau County Police Department, one of 28 participating in the state’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative, has also reported significant declines in gun violence this year. When comparing January through August 2025 to the same period last year, there were two fewer shooting incidents with injury (4 vs. 6); 10 fewer shooting victims (4 vs. 14); and firearm violence resulted in the death of one individual, compared to four.
“Modern technology saves time, helps save lives, and builds safer communities,” said Rossana Rosado, commissioner of Criminal Justice Services. “By giving departments the tools, resources and training necessary to meet today’s challenges, we’re strengthening the partnerships between state and local police to keep communities on Long Island and across New York safe.”
State Senator Siela A. Bynoe (D-Westbury) said, “The state’s investment in modernizing law enforcement technology continues to make a difference in keeping our communities safe. The resources provided through the Safer Streets initiative not only allow officers to respond more effectively but also give departments such as the Garden City Police Department the tools to help prevent crime before it happens. Crime is down in Nassau County year-over-year, demonstrating that our support of local law enforcement results in measurable gains to public safety on Long Island.”