Looking back at the past decade, Mount Hope Police Chief Paul Rickard said he accomplished what he set out to do—transform the department into a more professional operation.
He said he improved almost every facet of the police department in the small rural town in upstate New York, from hiring, training, and policy to infrastructure and technology.
Some changes can be seen by the public, such as computers in patrol cars; others are hidden inside the police headquarters, such as a break room for officers to recharge. Among all of his efforts, he said he’s most proud of those done to build community relationships.
“The police are the community, and the community are the police—Sir Robert Peel said that when he created modern police in England,” Rickard said. “I think that’s true and really what I strive to do.”
The grandson of a police officer and son of a teacher, Rickard grew up wanting to help people and serve the community, he said.
After serving for more than 20 years at the Middletown Police Department and rising to the rank of lieutenant, he retired, only to become Mount Hope’s police chief in 2010.
“I like being active, I like being busy, and I wanted to give back to the community I live in, my kids go to school in, and my family has been a part of for decades,” he said.
“I didn’t do it for the money; it was about community service.”
A Better Police Department
When Rickard took the helm, female and male officers took turns using the same locker room and had no dedicated break room to have lunch or just relax.He got support from the town supervisor and board to construct a female locker room and turn an all-purpose space in the building into a cozy break room.
He also had a garage built so that vehicles could be kept inside during bad weather.
To boost efficiency, he equipped each patrol car with computers so that officers could directly record information into the department’s system while in the field; he also secured funding for a $30,000 fingerprinting machine that’s connected with the state system for faster verification.
As for the police force, he pushed for the hiring of full-time officers for better community protection.
“It gives you more continuity and better coverage [as opposed to a complete part-time force],” he said, noting that increasingly stringent training requirements demand full-time commitment.
The department currently has two full-time officers and about 15 part-timers.
In terms of firearms training, he added hours and complexity, having officers practice tactical moves, such as exiting a car to take cover, and various shooting skills.
He also implemented use-of-force training by national expert Eric Daigle, wellness training by Middletown officer Sarah Coletti, and leadership training by Andrew Marotta from Port Jervis.
“I think if you learn about yourself, learn how to be a leader and how to be a good partner, then you can take those things and apply them across your life,” Rickard said. “It’s going to make you a better person, and you are going to be a better police officer.”
Despite being in a quiet rural town, Rickard has stayed abreast of new developments in the profession through organizations such as the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP), he said.
Years before the police bodycam movement reached small towns such as Mount Hope, he brought a few samples from an IACP meeting for his officers to try.
Rickard also hired national police policy firm Lexipol to review the department’s manuals to ensure compliance with any changes to the state’s criminal justice laws.
“If something bad happened, nobody [would care] if you were a police force in a small town; all they care about is if you are performing on a professional basis, using the latest police techniques and procedures,” he said.
Community and Partnership
When it comes to community engagement, Rickard created a department website, set up a Facebook page, and introduced a “Coffee with the Chief” program. The program featured a monthly conversation between him and a community guest, such as town supervisors, school administrators, and faith leaders.
In 2019, he hosted Otisville’s first National Night Out event, with basketball games, popcorn, and a dunk tank featuring members of the police department. National Night Out is an annual event celebrated by police agencies nationwide to foster better community-police relationships and build neighborhood camaraderie.
About five years ago, Rickard began to partner with Hope Not Handcuffs Hudson Valley to help people who had committed low-level crimes fight drug addiction. The organization, founded by Annette Kahrs, has an army of hundreds of volunteers working with officers to get people struggling with addiction to treatment centers.
He welcomed the approach out of an understanding that police can’t arrest their way out of the drug epidemic and that a multi-faceted solution is needed.
Rickard said he came to that conclusion because he had treated drug-related crimes the old way.
In the 1980s, when the crack epidemic swept the nation, he joined the Middletown police force and later became a narcotics officer and sergeant.
“We just worried about getting people off the streets and into jail,” Rickard said. “But it never ended. It was that perpetual—we arrested you, and then the next person came along.
“Now, we know a little bit more about addiction and the chemical reactions it causes in our brains, and we are coming to the realization that we are going to offer you treatment at the same time.
“You might not be successful today and relapse in recovery. We understand it might take a few times for you to stay safe and healthy in the long run.”
In his former capacity as president of the Police Chiefs Association of Orange County, he worked with Hope Not Handcuffs to host training at local police agencies with the help of a county grant.
New Role
Following his retirement in February, Rickard took over as the director of Hope Not Handcuffs Hudson Valley at the beginning of March.He said he hopes to build a closer relationship between the program and law enforcement agencies in the area to help more people struggling with addiction.
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