In an effort to reach out to residents who reside within the 8th Precinct of the Nassau County Police Department, police and precinct officials met with members of the communities of Farmingdale, Hicksville, Levittown, Bethpage, Plainview, Old Bethpage and North Massapequa to discuss crime and safety issues, as well as hear residents' concerns regarding the quality of life in the area.

With an estimated 75 people in attendance the community forum held last Wednesday at the Farmingdale Public Library, Nassau County Police Commissioner James Lawrence highlighted three main goals of the department. They included keeping crime low, improving police community relations and reorganizing the police department.

Lawrence noted that while the police department is working toward these goals, it is important that people know what police are doing and why they are doing it. "An aware community is a safe community," he said.

According to Inspector George Gudmundsen, commanding officer of the Eighth Precinct, the department's command resources include 140 uniformed officers, 22 detectives and 73 crossing guards. Up to this point in time this year, 17 members of the police department answered an estimated 26,000 phone calls for service. Fifteen percent of the top calls responded to recorded alarms, 9 percent responded to sick and/or injured calls and another 9 percent responded to automobile accidents.

"We have crime reductions in several major crime categories for the year and we expect that to get better as we keep working at it," said Gudmundsen. "Assisting us to allocate our resources to those areas that are most needed is the Nass-Stat program."

Ushered by Commissioner Lawrence, the Nass-Stat program is a variation of the crime-mapping program of the New York City Police Department. It is both a management program and a crime-mapping program that helps precinct commanders and other members of the Nassau County Police Department allocate resources to areas experiencing incidences of crime or anti-community acts.

Gudmundsen addressed the concern of young people, which is something that the Problem Oriented Policing, or P.O.P., is aimed at. P.O.P. is a strategy aimed at solving persistent community problems. They identify, analyze and respond to the underlying circumstances that create incidents. With this, the police can achieve greater police effectiveness, lower crime, have fewer community complaints and improve the quality of life, said Gudmundsen.

"I am aware of the areas in the community, including the [Massapequa] Preserve, the Bethpage bike path and the town emporium," said Gudmundsen. "We are going to do everything we can possibly do to litigate the negative fallout from these youth areas. We have a dedicated patrol that will operate, in addition to the sector cars that are out there virtually seven days a week."

The key to getting young people to try and stay on the "straight and narrow" is parental involvement. In an effort to minimize youth "hot spots," the police department has taken a strategic approach in notifying PTA/parent groups, maintaining a "zero" tolerance for violations, reinforcing the policy with police officers/supervisors, having reference handouts, bicycle patrols, follow-up letters to parents and Project 21.

"Our officers are directed to issue tickets whenever they possibly can," said Gudmundsen. "It's tough and can be a confounding thing, but we are on it, aware of it and I am open to your input and want to hear areas that you are concerned about."

The key to this workable program is to take the tickets and generate letters to parents of individuals. In 2002, there were 247 summonses written and letters were sent to parents, precinct-wide. Sixty-six "hot spot" locations were also identified.

Project 21 is an underage agent/volunteer, whereby the police garner cooperation of underage minors with permission of his or her parents. These minors go into local stores, where there were complaints for selling to minors. After officer's observations and with the cooperation of the "underage agent" the police are able to issue a citation/summons and a referral to the safe liquor authority.

A number this year are expected to take place in response to complaints from the community.

Also at the forum, Thomas Murphy, a police officer for 18 years, addressed the issue of identity theft, one of the fastest growing criminal offenses in the community and across the country. Identity theft is when someone uses your identification, such as your Social Security number, pin number or your credit card, without your permission for his or her own benefit.

The best way to guard against identity theft is by carrying fewer credit cards and canceling non-active accounts. Murphy also urges people to purchase a shredder. It is important that people do not discard mail or other material into the garbage pail with their name, account numbers or any other personal identification.

"Something like this can ruin your credit history," said Murphy. "Everything gets back to you and your Social Security number. People can get a criminal record without ever being arrested."

It is recommended that people obtain their credit report yearly. Simply go to a search engine and type in 'identity theft,' where you will find phone numbers and addresses for credit bureau companies, such as Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

"Get your [credit] report in shape and know that you have not become a victim," said Murphy. "Protect yourself from being a target."

At the conclusion of the forum, many members of the local community voiced concerns throughout their neighborhoods. All concerns and/or complaints were noted by the police officers in attendance who will check into these matters.

Some concerns included:

-Day laborers loitering around Farmingdale streets

-Drag racing on Woodward Parkway

-Overnight parking issues in South Farmingdale

-Undocumented "illegal alien" problems

-Reported graffiti that has remained for months

-A homeless man in the wooded area near Albany Avenue

-Students neglecting to stop at stop signs on Lincoln Street, near Farmingdale High School

-Drivers neglecting to stop at stop signs located near Thomas Powell Boulevard

Some dignitaries who were in attendance at the two-hour long community forum included Farmingdale Mayor Joseph Trudden, Oyster Bay Town Councilman Joseph Muscarella, Mike Grello from the Concerned Citizens Association of Farmingdale, Tim Zike, representing Town Supervisor John Venditto and Gary Carmen, representing County Legislator Salvatore Pontillo.