New Police Chief Sands Frost And City Administrator Chris White

Photo Credit: Michael Isabell

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The City of Beacon recently made two critical appointments, naming a new chief of police and a new city administrator. Chief Sands Frost is a longtime Beaconite who has worked in the BPD for 37 years. Administrator Chris White is a former Beacon city councilor who most recently worked for Ulster County for 9 years as the deputy director of planning.

In this episode, Chief Frost, a 37-year veteran of the Beacon Police Department, talks about policing reforms, the role of race in policing and his enforcement priorities.

“Beacon has changed a lot,” Chief Frost says. “In the 80s we had a high crime rate, and an obvious focus of the force was law enforcement and doing what we can to make arrests and lower the crime rate. Over the years Beacon has changed for the better. Crime rate is definitely down and our focus recently is more about trying to build community relations and blending in with the community. Taking advantage of having the lower crime rate, now we need to reach out to the community a little bit more and make friends and keep things calm.”

Meanwhile administrator Chris White discusses business currently before the city and his plans for 2021 and beyond. He says the city is well positioned to use taxpayer resources efficiently to improve community services.

“When you have a more stable tax base you’re able to invest in the things that make the city a great place to live – recreation, parks, your water and sewer system, your streets, your sidewalks your buildings, and invest back in your community,” White says. “So we have options now that we really didn’t have 25 years ago.”

“We have a very dedicated workforce and great department heads,” he adds. “My goal is just to coordinate them and help move obstacles out of the way so they can do the work that they need to do.”