A recent change in New York’s Civil Service law has reduced the number of hiring constraints on local law enforcement agencies.

As a result of the change, police departments and sheriff’s agencies can hire officers who are currently employed outside of their area. The change in the law eliminates the requirement that officers be “reachable” on the county’s civil service list.

Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati told Mid Hudson News that he applauds the change. “It’s beneficial to take in lateral transfers because the officer is already trained. In particular, NYPD officers have extensive training and experience with de-escalation techniques, procedural justice, and implicit bias which are the techniques we employ to handle calls for service in Dutchess County today.”