BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON -- St. Lawrence County probation officers will soon be allowed to carry handguns for self-defense purposes but extensive work must be completed before that day.

Probation officers are already allowed to utilize body armor and pepper spray but the ability to carry handguns is a recent development that county officials have said is necessary given the ever evolving landscape of law enforcement and probations.

According to Director of Probation Tim LePage, policies have been written and are awaiting review and approval at this time.

Psychological exams have also been completed on the officers who wish to carry handguns, though not all results are in just yet, he said.

"The ones we have received so far all went well," he recently told St. Lawrence County legislators.

Once those steps are complete, LePage said resolutions will be written to begin procuring equipment for the 10 officers who wish to carry.

While a number of technicalities remain, firearm training must also be complete.

LePage said the department missed the window to receive the training in July, however another opportunity would be available in August.

"By the end of the summer we hope to have armed probation officers," he said.

Training in defensive tactics, de-escalation techniques and motivational interviewing has already been scheduled and will be completed prior to firearms training, he said.

"A lot of the training is in motion to be done in the next few months," he said.

Along with 10 officers who will receive firearms training, four employees will also be trained armorers to work on the Glock handguns the department plans to utilize.

"They'll be Glock armorers, those at the weapons we plan to purchase and use," he said.

According to County Administrator Ruth Doyle, all expenses incurred through the training and arming of probation officers will come at no expense to county taxpayers as the funds to do so have been procured through state programs.

She said moving forward the county will assess expenses on a cost per unit basis, though she noted that turnover was very low in the department.

"We do have some pending retirements in the next few years, however, so those need to be taken into consideration," Doyle said.

Leadership, such as supervisors and directors will also require training, she said.

Doyle said the training will enable them to better relate to and work with probation officers.

"We hope to have resolutions for the committee in March, with final approval in April," she said.

Though LePage commented that no probation officers have ever had to discharge pepper spray in the line of duty, he said the carry of handguns is "purely for self defense."

"Like my father always said, it's better to have it and not need it," Legislator David Forsythe said.

LePage clarified that the probation officers would not be conducting any "law enforcement activities or serving warrants" and would be strictly carrying out Probation Department duties.

Legislator Harry Smithers also questioned if the officers would also be wearing body cameras in the future, something LePage said is currently in the works.

"We're looking at implementing body cameras but that hasn't been approved just yet," he said.

LePage said he has been researching policies and pricing the units out and will present findings to legislators in the near future.

Legislator Nicole Terminelli raised the question of whether the officers would enter schools armed when conducting threat assessments or carrying out PINS duties.

LePage responded that conversations would be had with districts but that so far "it appears most districts are comfortable with armed personnel in their schools."

LePage said he would attend a future superintendent's meeting to discuss the matter.

Legislator Margaret Haggard, who said she supported the measure, wondered whether a procedure would be in place to first use pepper spray before pulling a firearm in self defense.

According to LePage, that all comes down to the training and is a key component of what all officers will go through.

"They have to go through force of continuum training," he said.

That training, like firearm qualification, is done each year.

LePage said the officers will be required to qualify with firearms twice per year, as opposed to the state minimum of once per year.

So why the change?

It comes down to the environments officers are entering and the elements that drugs bring into them, LePage said.

He commented that when he first entered the field, most on probation who tested positive for drugs usually tested positive for cocaine, marijuana or alcohol.

Now, more individuals are testing positive for multiple drugs "sometimes four, five or six drugs," he said.

The types of drugs have also changed, with methamphetamine, fentanyl and amphetamines making up the bulk of drug use now.

"We also see bizarre behaviors from relatives and neighbors as well," he said.

LePage said drugs were the primary motivation to implement the policy and training to allow officers to carry.

"Drugs are the leading influence for me anyway and we're starting to see a lot more weapons than we ever have before," he said.

LePage said more training is required than in years prior, with officers undergoing four weeks of fundamentals training, six weeks at the SUNY Potsdam basic peace officer program, as well as two weeks for firearms, he said.

"We're going to make sure our staff is extremely well trained and we keep up on that training each year," he said.

Legislators are expected to make initial approvals to mandate training and procure equipment next month during the Operations Committee meeting.

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