Note: You can read the village's "One Square Mile" newsletter here.

By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

April 22, 2025: An important community clarification is needed as to the dissemination of police reports which are the recorded calls to the Police Department to which they have responded.

Police Reports are Available But There is a New Procedure

The availability of this information has by no means been discontinued or interrupted, rather the police department just put in a new procedure with the goal of protecting the identity and privacy of all of our citizens, in particular, the privacy of individuals who report incidents to the police or who are involved in incidents requiring police documentation.

We must be sensitive both on a human level and legal level to safeguard the rights of juveniles, persons involved in family disputes, defendants entitled to youthful offender status or conditional discharges, crime victims and callers providing confidential information to law enforcement.

Adding to this is a legal overlay of the restrictions place on our department by the Family Court Act and New York State Criminal Procedure Laws and of course the First Amendment.

Access to Police Reports Requires a FOIL Request

Requiring a Freedom of Information Request (FOIL) and providing, when legally permitted, police reports will ensure that sensitive information is not shared.

There have been concerns that residents cannot receive information in a timely manner and this is incorrect. Any information affecting public safety will be conveyed in real time by simply signing up for the e-alerts from the Police Department. We urge you to do this by the following procedure: Go to the Village website opening page under the Notify Me tab and sign up for the police alerts. You will most expeditiously learn of any events in the Village affecting public safety and quality of life.

Also, the department shares this information on three different media platforms; the same information almost as expeditiously on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Police Department Information is on their Website

Upon a review of area Police Departments, our Police Department website is probably the most transparent log of all that is happening in the Village. You can access all statistics be they arrests, traffic stops, etc., as well as reports on what kind of training our officers have received; whether they have used any kind of force and the disposition of the investigation following.

We also share every pertinent monthly statistic as well as a comprehensive annual report. We even include civilian complaints made to the Police Department, of course with names redacted, noting what the concern was and its disposition.

New Process to Access Information

Nothing happens here in the Village that isn’t available and easily conveyed in some form and this information stream has never been delayed or interrupted. Anyone can come into the Police Department, as we do not ask for ID, and ask to see the press report which is a summary of all the police calls which can be pages long but contains no incident details. If a person desires detailed information on certain calls that we are allowed to share mindful of Family Court rules, First Amendment rights and New York State Criminal Procedure Laws, they can easily file a Freedom of Information Request that will be fulfilled as expeditiously as possible. This process essentially safeguards the rights of everyone and does not put any police officer in a precarious position when answering the phone and being asked to give out information.

One can also review the report generated by the Police Community Relations Committee chaired by Deputy Mayor Underhill, which gives a comprehensive, transparent review of every aspect of running our Police Department. I urge you to read it as it was a joint committee of police officers, Village officials, clergy, community leaders and concerned citizens. The document is something for which we are very proud and have received a great deal of deserved commendation for it comprehensive nature and transparency.

Having a small Village with a small Police Department is such an advantage as we can share and disseminate information as quickly as possible to safeguard our residents.

New Generation of Scams

In that spirit, I share with you that right now we are experiencing a whole new generation of scams, much more sophisticated, much more intrusive and seemingly quite authentic, in the Village.

They are currently centered on messages from EZ Pass, Venmo, Verizon and Con Ed, clearly very sophisticated agencies being hacked. Thanks to AI, grandchildren’s voices are being captured and Village grandparents have been tricked into sending money to rescue family members.

The Police Department’s advice is to click open nothing and when getting telephone calls that appear suspicious, immediately call the police front desk at 914-337-0500.