Crime & Safety

Yorktown to Hire Police Officer for Undercover Narcotics Unit

Yorktown Police Department officials are in the process of interviewing candidates following a decision by town board members to hire a police officer for the purpose of restarting the narcotics unit in town.

The undercover narcotics unit was active until 2009 when an undercover police officer got injured while on duty. 

"[The narcotics unit] was never really technically disbanded," Yorktown Police Lt. Kevin Soravilla told Patch. "It wasn't working in its full capacity."

Lt. Soravilla said after the undercover police officer got injured, the department didn't have the manpower needed to devote to the unit. Now, hiring a police officer dedicated solely to drug enforcement would bring back the police department to its original capacity and ability to go after major drug dealers. 

"With drug enforcement we try to get the big guy who is distributing the drugs," Lt. Soravilla said. "That's what we are focusing on. We're trying to find the person who is selling the drugs."

Currently, about 80 percent of the drug arrests are due to police officers stopping cars while on patrol and subsequently seeing pills in plain view or detecting marijuana odor, police said. 

The Yorktown Police Department's manpower is currently 55, but the ideal number is 58, Lt. Soravilla said. 

What do you think? How could Yorktown benefit from the narcotics unit? Tell us in the comments section below.


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