By ANDY GARDNER

POTSDAM -- Potsdam’s newest police chief, Mark Murray, says he wants to bring some new programs to the village police department, including body cameras for officers and a bicycle patrol.

He said the body camera program is in early stages. Right now, he has one officer wearing a camera.

“This is an idea I have for our officer safety and case documentation, basically,” Murray said. “We’re testing three different vendors to see which cameras are the most user-friendly and cost-friendly. It’s yielded helpful footage.”

Once they pick a vendor, the chief said they will write a policy governing their use, including where and when they will be turned on.

“However they’re implemented has to be policy-specific and specific to the device. Different cameras have different features,” he said. “The officers that have demoed the cameras found to be a useful tool.”

He hopes to have the policy written up for the upcoming village budget process in June.

He says the body cameras are part of what he describes as a 10-year plan, which also includes continuing work with agencies around the area to combat the heroin problem.

“The other initiative we’re investing in right now is bike patrol,” he said.

He sees it as part of a community policing strategy, “more of a high-visibility, more public interaction initiative -- everything from parking issues to meeting business owners and being able to interact with the public.”

He said they will need to send officers to specialized training, as well as buy bikes with boots that clamp to the pedals, helmets and shorts.

Although the opiate crisis may not have hit Potsdam quite as hard as some surrounding communities, Murray said it is here and his officers regularly deal with it.

“I want to continue to collaborate with other local law enforcement partners, including St. Lawrence County Drug Task Force, federal Border Security Task Force (BEST), to be as proactive as possible in the effort to keep these things out of our community,” Murray said. “We’ve dealt with some methamphetamine production in the last year and we’ve definitely seen crimes … motivated by drug-seeking behavior, or committed by persons under influence of heroin or methamphetamine.

“We had a heroin overdose we investigated last December,” he said.

Officers are carrying naloxone, a medicine that can reverse the effects of an opiate or heroin overdose. It is sometimes marketed under the name brand Narcan.

“We’ve had some Narcan administered in a life-saving effort,” Murray said. “Officer (Matt) Seymour is very proactive in maintaining our Narcan supplies in patrol vehicles.”

The chief said keeping naloxone in the vehicles can be a challenge in the winter, since it must be stored at a certain temperature or it can go bad.

Murray says he’s excited to add to the force two officers born and raised in Potsdam - Jarrid Lavoie and Stephen Davis. They will start after graduating from the police academy in Canton next month.

“We’re really excited to get those guys in service, on duty,” he said.

Murray says he’s hoping to forge better relationships with the community and the police.

“I’m always open to invitations for us to meet with local business partners or community groups,” he said.

He pointed to their “Coffee With a Cop,” where members of the department sat at McDonald’s and would have coffee and talk with anyone who wanted to attend.

“We haven’t done it recently. It went really well,” he said. “It gave people a great chance to meet our new officers and put a name with a face and to know that we’re people also, we’re here to help you.”

He says he’s also trying to keep an eye on costs and not overburdening the local taxpayers.

“I think people are concerned with the village budget. I’ve worked with the village leadership and staff to reduce our budget and cut costs and still provide a high level of service the community is accustomed to,” Murray said. “I’m beyond excited to be part of the village management team and to be a part of this exciting time for the police department especially.”