Police Appreciation Week at Farmingdale State

By: Madison Warren

FARMINGDALE, N.Y - As May is quickly approaching, so is Police Appreciation Week. In the second week of May, we get the opportunity to honor a key role in administration here at Farmingdale State College, our University Police. I had the chance to sit down with Officer Contreras, a 3-year veteran as a University Police Officer to talk about his role here at Farmingdale and what this week means to him.

Contreras started his policing career as an NYPD officer for over two years, and as rewarding as the job was, he learned he liked the community aspect of the job compared to the enforcing. Although enforcement is still part of his job, he appreciates the softer, more community-focused aspects of it, as well as the opportunity to contribute to students' education here at Farmingdale. Contreras stated in an interview, “We have the luxury to educate through enforcement.” Being able to connect, create relationships with students and being able to educate them as well has been a key takeaway for Contreras.

Building these relationships has been a top priority for not only Contreras, but his whole team. Being present every day on campus is something they take pride in. Walking through campus, showing up to events, holding events of their own, spending time in the game room playing games of pool with students, creating a feeling of trust is necessary to these officers.

Picture by: Madison Warren

Beyond creating good relationships with everyone here at Farmingdale, another top priority is keeping everyone on campus safe. To ensure the safety of everyone this would involve conducting frequent patrols through campus, monitoring entrances and exits, and maintaining a presence in high foot traffic areas is all part of their daily routine.

Farmingdale student of two years, Joesph Rodriguez said, “The officers being deterrent and knowing that their always there is enough to stop people from making mistakes or choosing the wrong decisions.” The work these officers put in and the efforts they take to make safety their main goal is translated clearly to students like Joesph.

Contreras stated that they have numerous protocols in place for every emergency imaginable. All officers are highly trained in states of emergency, they even get sent to Oriskiany, Upstate for training in case of an active shooter on campus. Through experiences and years of training, they learn what protocols work best for each situation if there were a time to use them.

When asked what’s something you wish students understood more about your work, Contreras stated, “I wish they understood that we are not here just to give tickets out just to be the mean guys. Thats not our main goal here. Our main goal here is to keep the whole campus community safe.” He also continued to say, “Whatever you guys need, 24/7 we are always here.”

When asking Farmingdale student, Horace Lane what he thinks of Police Appreciation week, he shared, “They are overlooked. They don’t realize how much they do for us.” Students like Horace agree we should always show our appreciation for our police, but this week should be extra special for them.

To Contreras, Police Appreciation Week is just another week on the job. This is a job that these officers are passionate about no matter what the week is. “It’s nice to feel appreciated. But we do what we need to do whether we are appreciated or not,” said Contreras when asked what this week means to him. They are determined, hardworking, and care about what they do and the safety of our campus regardless of the time of year.