ROCHESTER – Anyone who feared — or hoped — that bringing constables to Rochester would mean uniformed personnel writing parking tickets has not seen that come to pass. In fact, the town's law enforcers don't even have a pad of tickets, or a car to patrol in, but that doesn't mean that the program hasn't been growing and changing since the Shawangunk Journal last checked in on it three years ago.

Chief constable Richard Miller remains the heart and soul of the program which was his brainchild. A seasoned officer and certified police trainer, Miller's know-how is what revived the town law authorizing constables, and he has also helped to re-imagine their role in Rochester. Perhaps it's a measure of his humility, but Miller himself declined to answer detailed questions about the department, claiming that nothing much new has developed.

Town supervisor Carl Chipman was a bit more effusive, and laid out some details about who Miller has been training, the specific programs he's developed for the public, and the various ways town residents have been benefiting from having constables working behind the scenes.

"We're bringing it along really, really slowly, as we sense a need we will see if we can address it," he said. "They're not here to generate income with writing tickets."

That isn't to say that the constables don't represent a net positive for the town, however; not one penny of taxpayer money has been needed by them, and the supervisor is forecasting $80,000 in income for next year's budget. That's mostly thanks to Miller's experience as a police trainer, which has allowed the town to host a number of courses that bring in $2,000 per person. One of the first in line for training was the town's court officer, Tom Ryan; Miller also trained an assistant for himself in Chris Simmons. "The courses are 150 hours long, so he needs the help," Chipman explained.

Senior citizens in the town may be familiar with the elder-care program, as invitations to join have gone out with tax bills. The approximately 150 people who have opted in so far will, in the case of an emergency, be notified about the details by phone, or in person if that's needed. Their condition will be monitored until the emergency conditions pass, and they will be assisted in relocating to a shelter such as the community center if that's warranted.

"A lot of them won't want to go," the supervisor said, as he's familiar with the independent streak of his constituents.

While working with senior citizens will only happen during worst-case scenarios, the town's junior citizens are likely already familiar with Constable Miller. He runs several programs for children, including one to familiarize them with "stranger danger" and how to react if approached by an unfamiliar person, a "good guys" session to get them comfortable with uniformed personnel and basic emergency skills such as knowing when and how to dial 911, and a class on bullying, including cyber-bullying.

"Kids are getting on social media younger and younger," the supervisor noted, and they need some skills to deal with people online.

Perhaps the most unexpected impact of having a constabulary is access to more government purchasing programs. The town has procured two generators for emergency use, and a replacement bus for the youth program, thanks to Miller's knowledge of these ins and outs. The generators are now installed at town hall and the community center, which required a few hundred dollars worth of labor and equipment, on top of paying $500 each for them. Chipman said that they were Army-owned, and had less than ten hours of run time each when they were acquired. Full price, they'd each run about $30,000, he said. The used school bus was a bit more costly, at $5,850, but anyone putting their little ones on it will feel safer than they might have before the old town youth bus was replaced. A used bus in similar condition should run $10-15,000, the supervisor said, and new ones cost around $100,000.

It is possible to see constables working publicly — they did have a presence for a time near the Accord Speedway when nearby residents were concerned about patrons speeding as they left for the night. But there are no plans to expand that presence at this time. Instead, they will continue to quietly work behind the scenes, identifying needs and solving problems that town residents didn't necessarily know that they had.