Retiring police chief praised for service to Albion and Orleans County

Press Release, Albion Mayor Eileen Banker and the Albion Village Board

Provided photos: Roland Nenni holds a gift from the Albion Village Board, which he was presented today in the Albion Village Board meeting room. Nenni has his last day in the office today, ending a 29-year career in law enforcement. He has served the past decade as Albion police chief, while also leading the Holley Police Department the past five years. Nenni also has served as the SWAT commander for Orleans County and teaches at the Rural Police Academy at GCC.

ALBION – Chief Roland Nenni started his career with the Albion Police Department in 1994 after serving for a year and a half with the Holley Police Department. Chief Nenni served in many roles with the Police Department prior to him being promoted.

During the late 1990’s, Nenni as an officer completed the DCJS Crime Prevention Officers School and Community Policing School. Because of this training he was instrumental in forming many neighborhood watch groups in the village. As an officer he spent hundreds of hours teaching the community crime prevention measure, safety measures and conducted many security surveys for residents and businesses.

One of the many roles was to serve as the department’s lead trainer. Nenni completed held many training certifications which allowed the Albion Police Department to intensely train officers at an extremely high level.

In 2002 while on vacation in Florida, Nenni had an opportunity to have a discussion with executives of a new police technology called Taser. As a result of that meeting the Albion Police Department was one of the first agencies in New York to deploy Tasers to every officer. Taser is now a standard item amongst law enforcement.

Early in his career he was assigned to the Department’s Emergency Response Team which later became part of the Countywide SWAT Team. During this time he completed a SWAT Basic School conducted by the US Army at Ft. McLellan Alabama and the FBI Sniper Scout School. He then completed the Tactical Medic Course and Team Leader Development Course.

While on the team, Nenni served as a sniper, team medic, and tactical team leader. He was one of the developers of the Countywide SWAT Team which combined all the law enforcement agencies in Orleans County into one SWAT Team. Nenni continued to serve on the team as a Co-Commander and then became the Overall Team commander in 2014.

When promoted chief of the Albion Police Department in 2011, the Albion Police Department became the first agency in the county and region to accomplish several initiatives.  The Albion Police are dispatched and respond to all EMS and Fire Calls. Chief Nenni obtained AEDs for every police vehicle in an effort to save lives as officers often arrive on scene of medical emergencies before other responders.

The Albion Police Department was the first agency to outfit every police vehicle with a patrol rifle and provide train every officer with advance training with them. The Albion Police Department was the first agency to place less lethal munition in every vehicle. Up until this point there were very limited less lethal options for officers. The Albion Police Department has responded throughout the county to provide this option to other law enforcement agencies during incidents.

The Albion Police Department also expanded its training requirements for officers during Chief Nenni’s tenure. The required training for officer in NYS consists of 1 or 2 required training sessions a year. Chief Nenni built the training up to make many offices instructors in various areas. The Albion Police Department now trains in over 15 to 20 specific disciplines and is always expanding. The Police Department recently changed its Policy Management that will require policy training several times a week.

The Albion Police Department is the only agency in the county to be accepted into the US Department of Defense 1033 Program. This program provides equipment free of charge to law enforcement. Chief Nenni has obtained over $1.6 million in equipment from this program. This equipment consists of armored vehicles, robots, generators and utility vehicles. These items were made available to all the agencies in the county and have assisted agencies outside Orleans County.

In 2015 Chief Nenni started the County Wide National Night Out. This event grew over the years and involved many civic and service organizations. The 3-plus hour event is held in August and averaged 1,500 to 2,000 attendees and provided services to members of the community. Those who attended were able to make connections with professionals that could help with any life event that a person could experience. Also, in 2015 the Albion PD was the first agency in Orleans County to implement body cameras and complete video recording throughout the entire police station.

Chief Nenni became certified in high levels of incident and event management. This allowed the Albion Police Department to manage large events such as the Strawberry Festival, several running races including the Metro 10 and other events that take place throughout the year. Those who attend these events don’t see the hours and plans that Nenni establishes to make them safe and enjoyable.

The Village of Albion has seen many serious incidents during Nenni’s time as police chief.  While many of these incidents were tragic, the ultimate successful conclusion was made possible because of the training and dedication of the entire Police Department.

The Albion Village Board would like to sincerely thank Chief Nenni for his dedicated service to the Albion Police Department and most important to the residents of the Village of Albion. To say Chief Nenni gave 150 percent to the department and the citizens of the village is an understatement.

The board wishes Chief Nenni much happiness, good health and continued success in the next chapter of his life!