County officials break ground on $12m police training village at Nassau County community college

In a significant development for law enforcement training, county officials gathered on Thursday to break ground on a groundbreaking $12 million police training village at Nassau County Community College.

This innovative facility will feature model buildings and streets where law enforcement agencies can immerse themselves in realistic scenarios to enhance their response capabilities.

The mock village, set to cater to Nassau County police and various regional law enforcement agencies, will undergo construction over the next two years. It will be situated on the premises of the Nassau County Police Training Center, centrally located on the college campus in Uniondale.

The funding for this ambitious project was greenlit in July by the Nassau County Legislature and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA).

Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder expressed his enthusiasm for this transformative initiative, emphasising how it would revolutionize the training of both cadets and veteran officers. The facility will present a myriad of true-to-life settings within a model community, including a bar, restaurant, residence, house of worship, bank, drugstore, and even a train station.

One of the distinctive features of this program is the active involvement of students from Nassau County Community College’s criminal justice program.

These students will not only gain college credit but will also serve as role players in various scenarios, providing valuable feedback to police department personnel and their academy instructors.

Commissioner Ryder detailed that the training curriculum will encompass a wide range of situations, such as handling domestic incidents, assisting homeless or mentally ill individuals by directing them to social services, and responding to crises involving suicidal individuals at train stations.

Additionally, cadets will practice the intricate process of safely transporting patients to waiting helicopters destined for hospitals.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman highlighted the broader impact of this facility, emphasizing that it will benefit not only Nassau County police, ranked as the 12th largest force in the nation but also extend its services to other police departments and federal agencies.

This list includes sheriff’s departments, the NYPD, State Police, DEA, and the IRS.

In an intriguing move, Commissioner Ryder revealed plans to maximise the facility’s utility by renting it out to movie studios on weekends.

These rentals will help offset operational costs while enabling studio improvements, ultimately transforming parts of the training village into a versatile soundstage.

As construction commences, the Nassau County Community College Police Training Village promises to be a pioneering hub for law enforcement training, setting new standards in preparing officers for the complex challenges of real-world scenarios.