First, let me give you a little background of who I am so there will be no "shame on you" remarks later on. Seventeen years ago, I retired from the Nassau County Police Department after proudly serving you and the community for more than 35 years. During my career I spent many a day and night in Mineola, walking a foot post and doing a Special Parking Enforcement Details. And I enjoyed every moment for I found the people of Mineola to be very friendly and supportive. I will always be loyal to the Nassau Police Department for it treated me well. Enough of this, now you know where I am coming from.

In December, the residents of the Village of Mineola will be asked to vote on a referendum concerning the establishment of a village police department. The commission, hand picked by the mayor and his staff, was asked to come back with a favorable study that showed it was of course, feasible. However, nowhere in the report was there a conclusion that there was a need for our own police. When listening to some of the rhetoric and statements made at village open meetings you would think we were under siege by certain elements and criminals. Sometimes statements that could be considered "scare tactics;" these statements are being spread as gospel especially to some of our senior citizen groups and other avenues of expression.

But the question still is there, "Do we need our own police department?" or "Does someone or group only want their own police department?" It seems that only advocates of this premise attend the village meetings. Many questions are still unanswered. Has any crime wave spread through our community? One writer listed crimes that were committed since 2004. (Be real, if you read the local newspapers after a summer weekend, all those crimes could have been committed, over a weekend, in some of our local communities policed by their own departments.) Have any requests for police assistance been neglected? How many aided cases were not responded to, day or night? There are 25 patrol sectors in the Third Precinct, if a sector car from Mineola is called to an adjoining sector, there still remains more than 20 sector cars to respond in case of a serious emergency. We've heard from some officials that the village will prosper from summonses issued by our own police. That's fine if you want the village police officer to sit on some stop sign in the back streets instead of answering more important emergencies. And on the back streets who do you think will get the summonses for stop signs, improper turns, etc? It will be your wife, mother, daughter or another family member for they will probably be the only offenders to be found at those locations. Unless of course, the new police use an old cliché of village police, "Out-of-towners, out of luck, local people, let them go."

The nature and severity of crimes and criminals have changed over the years. To meet this challenge you want a professional and experienced department at your service 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year. You have that now with one of the finest police departments in the country, that's right, the country. Don't base your vote on assumptions. Don't assume you will get a better department. Don't assume the new officers will be any more dedicated than the fine officers now serving the county. Don't assume that the costs, as presented, will not change in the years to come.

There is one more issue and this has been bothersome to me if not insulting to some. I hear the phrase, "those people," referring to who knows who or where it is directed. You've heard it at the village meetings. "Those people" are causing our taxes to go up." "Those people" cause the trouble in the village." "Those people" stand on corners and harass our wives and elders. There have been other disparaging innuendoes. Remember one thing, "those people," are the same people who take the menial jobs in our community, clean up your messes and tend to your needs in the local hospitals, serve your food at local fast food restaurants, are the cashiers at your local supermarkets and also cut your grass and clean your yards. One other thing, they are also the same "those people" you see in church on Sundays.

The village will be mailing out a report on the feasibility of having our own police department. Read it well and vote your conscience, not by party, friendships or politics alone. I hate to add one more cliché but I feel it is important at this time, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It is something you and your family will have to live with for a long time. But most important be sure to vote.

Dan Scheidel, (NCPD - Ret.)

A Mineola resident