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Androsko started leading the department on Jan. 21, succeeding the retiringÌýJames Slayton. He will be officially sworn in at the Feb. 13 meeting of Auburn City Council.Ìý

The new chief lauded his predecessor for his decades of work at the department, saying Slayton helped him grow as both an officer and a person.

A native of Throop, Androsko began at the department as a patrolman in 2007, became supervisor of the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force in 2021 and was promoted to captain in charge of the department's patrol division in 2023. His responsibilities have included handling felony complaints, executing drug busts and running the school resource officer program in Auburn.Ìý

"I can bring these experiences to the officers and tell them, 'I've been there, I've done it,'" Androsko told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» a few days before starting as chief.

"I can guide them and I can teach them. I know that we have a lot of phenomenal advisors in those positions right now that are doing the same thing."Ìý

The new chief also spoke with ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» about several other issues, including recruitment, recent high-profile uses of force by Auburn officers, the chief's residency requirement and more.

Recruitment

One of Androsko's goals as chief of police is increasing the department's staffing levels.Ìý

It has faced anÌýofficer shortageÌý´Ú´Ç°ùÌýyears, and will be seven patrol positions short by early February due to a retirement and two recent transfers, he said. The department is now working on background checks forÌýpotential recruits who passed civil service and agility tests in the fall. Two more are in the middle of field training.

Androsko said he would love to see the department fully staffed for the first time in years, if only because he believes it would provide a morale boost.

"I think it would give us more opportunity down here to do things that we would love to do, policing-wise, he said.

"Different specialized units and beefing up certain units that we already have established. Our hands are kind of tied and limited by us having this strain of being so short-staffed."

One way to boost recruitment, Androsko said, is community outreach. For instance, officers visit an Auburn school once a month after class through the Booker T. Washington Community Center, playing basketball and more with students. The chief praised such efforts to be more visible to students, which he believes can also introduce them to the idea of pursuing law enforcement as a career.

"(It can) build that bridge of trust with us, to develop relationships and rapport with those young, impressionable juveniles," he said. "You might get a 10-year-old kid that says, 'I want to do that.'"

Androsko said the department has many young officers, with their average amount of experience being four years. Noting that he turned 41 last month, he said he looks forward to working with them.Ìý

"We've got the best officers inside the state," he said. "They do phenomenal work, day in and day out, and they probably don't get enough credit where credit is due."

Community relations

Another goal of Androsko's is strengthening the department's public relations. He wants to make the community more aware of efforts like the afterschool visits through press releases or posts on social media. Overall, he wants to make more people aware of what the department is doing, and its accomplishments. That includes being transparent and building trust, he said.Ìý

"I think we need their trust in order for us to move forward. Policing is always an evolving thing, and we are trying to be as progressive as we can. We're always reviewing our policies," he said.

Androsko wants to hear what the community wants from the department as well. Noting severalÌýuses of force last year that drew public criticism, he said he wants to meet with local civil rights leaders.

"I'd like to just talk to them and pick their brain on what they see. Sometimes there's things that we can change. We can send the officer training, maybe de-escalation," he said. "And sometimes, it's not the officer, sometimes it might have been an individual who wasn't complying at times, and we need to look at that aspect of it also. Sometimes the officer does do their job."

He continued, "None of our officers go looking to do a use of force. That's not how we operate at the Auburn Police Department. ... But it is, unfortunately, a part of the job."

Some of those leaders have already reached out to Androsko, he said.Ìý

"I'm open to having conversations and open dialogue. I think I have that type of personality that I can build (a) bridge," he said.

"I don't think it's broken, I just think, right now, it's a little shaky, and I'm hoping to make it sturdy."Ìý

Headquarters

Androsko was also asked by ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» about the department's efforts to find a new building to serve as its headquarters.

An engineering firm that reviewed the current brick police station at 46 North St., which was built in 1931,Ìýrecommended in June 2023 that the department relocate.

Androsko said the department is hoping to find grant money to help it move into a new station. If so, Auburn City Ambulance would take over the rest of the North Street building.

"We're trying to find some funding, if there is any," he said. "But yeah, we would love to be in a new, up-to-date building."

Residency

Androsko, who lives in the town of Brutus, does meet the city code's that members of the police department live within 10 miles of the city limits.

Asked about concerns about police who don't live in the areas where they work, he said that he is in Auburn frequently.Ìý

"I work here, I shop here, I get my gas here, my mother lives within the city limits, I have family that lives within the city limits. The city should not have concerns about me not living within the city limits. I consider Auburn and Cayuga County as one," he said. "I'm here in Auburn probably more than I am at home."

Policing

Androsko also told ÈËÊÞÐÔ½» the department is looking at implementing a different style of policing in the future.

Evidence-based policing, part of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' , analyzes crime statistics to help police make better decisions on using resources, Androsko said. For instance, if statistics showed a lot of traffic accidents took place at a certain time, day and location, a patrol car would be placed there then.Ìý

The departmentÌýreceived grant funding from the initiative in 2023, and Androsko and other local law enforcement officials have attended state trainings on it.

The department now plans to hire an analyst who can help implement it, Androsko said, rather than only relying on the experiences of officers when deciding how to use resources.

"We've been seeing it, but now we actually have stats to back up what our gut feeling was," he said. "We have statistical, scientific data to back up what we're actually seeing on the street."