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Independent audit finds Saratoga Springs police implemented just over half of 50 reforms, calls for implementation committee
Summary
A Beacon Risk Group review presented to the Saratoga Springs City Council found roughly 55% of the 50-point police reform recommendations complete, highlighted gains in accreditation and policy updates, and urged creation of a formal implementation committee to track milestones and outcomes.
Art, a consultant from Beacon Risk Group, presented an independent compliance review of the police department's 50-point reform plan adopted in 2021, telling the City Council the review combined a document inventory, interviews of command staff and inspection of technologies.
The review found the department had completed about 55% of the 50 recommendations, with 17 items in progress and roughly 12 items not addressed, Art said. He praised the department's accreditation work and recent policy revisions: "Accreditation required the police department to comply with 111 different standards ... your police department is among the top 30% of police departments in the state of New York," he said.
The auditor flagged several persistent gaps. Most prominently, he said, there was no implementation plan or independent oversight body to marshal the reforms and measure whether discrete steps achieved the intended outcomes. "In this case, there is no implementation plan," Art said, urging the council to convene a formal, cross‑sector implementation committee to define intent, steps, obstacles and milestones.
Council members and the consultant also discussed data and metrics. Art noted the department's new analytics platform (Peregrine) and cautioned that demographic conclusions about encounters are unreliable until resident vs. nonresident encounter data are collected consistently. "If data is inaccurate, it's garbage in garbage out," he said, calling for clearer data collection on whether police encounters involved residents or visitors.
The audit highlighted budgeting and training as additional concerns. Art described per‑officer training funding as low and recommended role-based annual training plans tied to measurable outcomes. He recommended a facilitated "workout" session to translate recommendations into concrete milestones and offered to lead such sessions under the existing contract hours.
The presentation concluded with council members thanking the consultant and with officials noting the work would feed into the department's implementation phase rather than ending the effort. The council did not take a formal vote on implementing a committee at the meeting; the consultant urged that the next phase focus on turning findings into an accountable implementation plan.
