1970-11-12

              DALB PUBLIC LIBRARY
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FARMINGDALE, N. Y, 11735
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POWELL HOUSE 1700 F& RMINOD& LE OBSERVER
WHERE THE HISTORY OF YOUR COMMUNITY IS RECORDED WEEKLY
An Officiaf Newspaper of The Incorporated Village of Farmingdale — Serving Greater Farmingdale, Bethpage and Melville
Vol. 8 No. 12 Second Class Postage has been paid at Farmingdale, N. Y. 11735' Thursday, November 12, 1970
Looney To Step Down
As Police Chief
Nassau County Police Commissioner Francis B. Looney announced
on Saturday that he would retire as Nassau County Police Com­missioner
on January 3. He is a resident of 4 Quaker Meeting House
Road, Farmingdale. It is speculated that newly elected County
Executive Ralph Caso wishes to appoint someone else to the position.
" I have served as Police Commissioner for five years," he said,
4' and it has been my thought that my service would be completed at
the end of the term of office of the man who appointed me.
" I leave with a deep sense of appreciation to the men of the
department and to the staff officers who have worked closely with me.
I leave, also, with a sense of gratification for the things we have ac­complished
together."
Looney, 54, who has been a member of the county police department
since 1939 and has held all 13 ranks in the department from patrolman
to commissioner. He was appointed commissioner January 3, 1966.
A graduate of St. John's Law School, he was admitted to the bar in
1940. During World War II, he served with the Army Counter In­telligence
Corps from 1942 to 1946.
Commissioner Looney is presently serving as President of the New
York State Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc. He is also a Vice-
President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc.
( first Chief to ever have been elected unamiously in 79 years) He
serves on the Highway Safety Committee and heads the Public
Relations Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of
Police.
He is a member of the Committee on Guidelines- New York State
Fair Trial- Free Press Conference, and is on the Board of Directors of
the Nassau County Youth Board. He is a member of the Nassau
County Drug Abuse and Addiction Commission, chairman of the
Nassau County Crime Council, and is Vice- President of the Nassau
County Council of Boy Scouts of America.
The Commissioner is also serving as Chairman of the Committee on
the Police of the new Section of Criminal Justice of the New York
State Bar Association. He was appointed to the Office of Crime
Control Planning by Governor Rockefeller in June, 1970.
Looney was born within a mile of his present residence in Far­mingdale
in Bethpage. He was graduated from the Farmingdale High
School ( Bethpage that time did not have a high school) as was his
wife, the former Mary K. Ahern. The Commissioners brothers all live
locally and include; Michael, James, John, Harold and Walter and
two sisters, Mildred and Marita.
His daughter, Jean, age 23, is a Latin and English teacher at
Cathedral Prep Seminary in East Elmhurst, Queens. His son, Tom,
age 18 is a student at Niagara University and his son, Daniel, age 14 is
a student at St. Anthony's High in Smithtown. His daughter Jane, age
six, is a first grade student at Northside School, Farmingdale.
Looney says that he has too many ties in Farmingdale and loves his
home too much to ever leave. He said that he had no intention of
moving when asked whether he might accept offers to be Chief of
Police in other cities in the United States.
Looney received his law degree while being a patrolman. He was
only one out of 700 policemen attending collge. He has inaugurated
college education requirements for patrolman. He said that he was
most proud of the fact that 1,600 men in the policeforce are now at­tending
college and that 250 have already graduated. This program
was startedin 1966. Retroactive college regents are now necessary for
advancement.
He is also very proud of the police science library, which now has
more than 10,000 volumes and is the largest of its kind in the United
States.
He is proud of the community relations established by his ad­ministration
and he points with pride to the police booths in an effort
to bring police closer to the people.
The " Youth Express", a trailer for young people, Looney
established as part of the youth division is another one of his ac­complishments.
Crime prevention has been reduced 6 percent the first six months of
this year where it has gone up nationally, is astatistic about which
Looney is justly proud. He points to the Neighborhood Security
system.
Fatal accidents have been reduced over the last five years by the
Traffic Safety Division under his leadership.
He appointed Police Women before the Women's lib movement he
pointed out. 35 young ladies are serving as police cadettes.
He started the civil service police cadet program . He is proud of the
Narcotics Analysis program, which is revolutionary in police circles
in the United States whereby parents may bring suspicious sub­stances
to a precinct and have them analyzed and returned to them
under a fictious name.
He inaugurated court procedures to relieve patrolman of attending
unnecessary time to verify complaints.
He is proud of the Holiday Safety program and the children's Safety
Town at Salisbury Park.