New video promotes critical work of Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office
Video produced by Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation
YAPHANK, N.Y. (April 18, 2024) The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation (SCSF) recently released a video promoting the critical work of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office in building a stronger community. The SCSF works in tandem with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office to support community-based programming to reduce incidents of crime and recidivism, improve outcomes for at-risk individuals, and build positive relationships with members of law enforcement.
Suffolk County Sheriff Dr. Errol D. Toulon, Jr. notes in the video that the greatest opportunity for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the SCSF is to have a positive impact on the community.
“It is very, very important that we continue to build trust not only with the youth but also with marginalized communities that feel that they cannot trust law enforcement. When we can do that, we are able to come together with a common bond to understand at least what the problem is and be respectful in hearing each other’s views,” says Toulon.
The SCSF supports a number of important programs with three overarching funding initiatives including:
- The Community Investment Fund – Provides funding for programs that are essential to stand between gang members and vulnerable school-aged children.
- The Community Service Fund – Provides funding for programs that supports children of incarcerated parents to offer opportunity in the hopes of breaking the cycle of incarceration.
- The Inside-Out Fund – Provides funding for training programs that help make officers more culturally aware of the communities they serve, allowing for better community relations and collaboration.
Dominic J. Marino, DVM, president of the SCSF, says the video focuses on the innovative ways Toulon is addressing increasing crime rates, youth gang recruitment, and recidivism in Suffolk County.
“Sheriff Errol Toulon’s plans are holistic in nature meaning they require community members, corporations and members of law enforcement to coordinate our efforts to tackle the very serious and complex problems drugs, crime and gang violence pose,” says Marino. “The Sheriff’s programs reach the kids when they are most vulnerable and can change the course of a child’s life. Please help us help the sheriff reach these kids before they reach him.”
Toulon said that the partnership of the Suffolk County Sheriff Foundation is essential to help bring in corporate sponsors, entrepreneurs, business owners from the community to support programs to enhance public safety. One example is the Sheriff’s Transition and Reentry Team (S.T.A.R.T.) Reentry Team (S.T.A.R.T.) Resource Center, which interviews inmates upon incarceration assessing their needs both while incarcerated and post incarceration.
“When we create programs such as The Sheriff’s Transition and Reentry Team (S.T.A.R.T.) Resource Center where we can help individuals who are returning back to our community find jobs, find housing, deal with their mental health and substance abuse issues it’s something that is so important,” says Toulon. `
Jennifer Caggiano, a hospital coordinator, says she utilized the S.T.A.R.T. Resource Center after incarceration.
“I feel that a lot of people would benefit from the help of the S.T.A.R.T. Resource Center, so they don’t feel desperate to go back to their old life,” she said. “Thankfully, from coming here, I have had a job for over a year and received a promotion.”
Another highlight of the video also includes specific projects that could be possible with support from the SCSF via the Community Investment Fund. For example, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office would be able to add more analysts trained in crime data mining.
“The Correction’s Intelligence Center main goal is to take the intelligence that we gather inside our network and merge it with the information that is being gathered outside of the jails and we attack crime from both of those angles,” says Kevin T. Catalina, Suffolk County Undersheriff at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.
With more than three centuries of continuous service, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is the oldest law enforcement in Suffolk County, N.Y., and has become known as one of the most innovative law enforcement agencies and correctional systems in the country.
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation’s mission is to support community-based programming to reduce incidents of crime and recidivism, improve outcomes for at-risk individuals, and build positive relationships with members of law enforcement.
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More information about the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation and its activities can be found at https://www.suffolkcountysf.org.
Contact: Laura Perillo
Media Rep for Good Causes
Representing: Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation
(908) 406-3413 (Text OK); [email protected]
