Chief Peenstra on state of Seneca Falls Police Deparment

Serving the public is what he loves to do.On Thursday’s episode of Inside the FLX, Seneca Falls Police Chief Stuart Peenstra sat down with Josh Durso to talk about policing in Seneca County, the challenges of managing a small town force, and the continued battle on heroin and other drugs in the area.It’s been a challenge.The heroin epidemic has been one of the bigger problems that he and his officers have had to deal with over his four years as Chief of Police. “It’s a never ending battle,” Peenstra said of his time dealing with drugs during his time in law enforcement.He also spoke to the challenges that local municipalities face is needing to do more with less. Unfortunately, local agencies are much more relient on state dollars than the larger city forces, like those in Rochester or Syracuse. Peenstra said that the Seneca Falls Police Department recently deployed body cameras on some of their officers and the results have been outstanding.It’s about building trust. He said that the trust factor between law enforcement and the general public is crucial to the integrity of the entire operation. When it comes to trust, though, nothing builds trust like a resource officer in local schools. Peenstra pointed out that, “It comes down to three fundamental things: Education, prevention, and intervention.” He spoke to those things on Inside the FLX and revealed just how much of a positive impact the newly deployed Resource Officer in Seneca Falls has had.Officer Christopher Denny only recently started his work as the Resource Officer for Seneca Falls, but it’s something that has had a huge impact on building relationships between students and law enforcement. Speaking to those relationships and trust, he recalled his own time as an officer on the Seneca Falls Police Department, when he saw the benefits of the students knowing local law enforcement, as those who came before him did a great job of engaging the youth in Seneca Falls with programs like D.A.R.E.Recently, the Seneca Falls Police Department received New York State Accreditation, which is a major accomplishment for any law enforcement agency. Peenstra said, “To undergo the scrutiny of having New York State come in and critique your officers, your procedures, and how you operate — it’s a big test, and a major accomplishment for us.”Check out the interview with Seneca Falls Police Chief in it’s entirety on this week’s episode of Inside the FLX.