Ulster County is “holding its own” in terms of fighting the gang and drug problem, Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum said.
The sheriff credits the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team – URGENT – created in 2007, with helping to keep a lid on crime.
“When you look at areas around us, Middletown, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, areas like that, they are in a lot worse shape than we are because I believe we started being proactive back in ’07 and I think they were a little later,” he said. “Now they have to have the federal government come down and help them out and I think we can’t relent on any of this.”
Van Blarcum also credited the tough sentencing stance of Ulster County judges in fighting crime.
