Local Law Enforcement Meet with Putnam CTC

On Tuesday January 31^st, members of the Putnam Communities That Care (CTC) Coalition met with members of the Putnam County law enforcement community to work on strengthening the bond between the coalition and police. “Law enforcement is an indispensable partner in coalition work, said Bruce Kelly, Putnam CTC coalition coordinator. Their presence and support give credibility to our work”.

The mission of the Putnam Communities That Care (CTC)Coalition is to build a safe and healthy family-oriented community, which includes reducing the use of harmful substances by our adolescents. Our coalition includes individuals from all sectors of the community who work together to reduce risk factors and strengthen protective factors through education, enforcement and policy initiatives.

The meeting began with Kristin McConnell, the Executive Director of Putnam NCADD and the co-chair of the Putnam CTC, welcoming all the attendees and setting out the goals of the meeting - to strengthen the relationship between law enforcement & the coalition. Ms. McConnell pointed out that although law enforcement has been an active partner in the coalition, she believed that we could do more things together in furtherance of the CTC’s goal to reduce substance abuse among the County’s youth. 

Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith addressed the 25 attendees on the importance of this partnership. Sheriff Smith pointed out that working with the coalition can help police as it provides them a seat at the table with community members wherein they can receive valuable information as well as keeping the community apprised of what law enforcement is doing.

Bruce Kelly, a former police officer and prosecutor, outlined the activities law enforcement has engaged in with the coalition and how important it is to have them involved. “I sat on 17 community coalitions in Westchester as a member of the DA’s Office and in each coalition there was a law enforcement presence. To a community member that speaks volumes about the legitimacy of the organization”.

Discussions were then held concerning different ways the two groups can work together in the future.

Present at this meeting were members of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Putnam County District Attorney’s Office, Putnam County Probation Department, Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services, Kent Police Department, Carmel Police Department, New York State Police & NY/NJ High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program.