Mineola residents heartily defeated a referendum that proposed the creation of a local police force Tuesday.

Mayor Jack Martin claims the village needs more policing than it's getting from the Nassau County Police Department. He says only three patrol cars protect the 20,000 residents at any given time. However, when polls closed at 9 p.m. and the ballots were counted at Mineola Village Hall, nearly 70 percent of all voters decided a local police department is not a good idea.

According to Martin, the failed plan called for about three dozen salaried officers and an average of seven cars on patrol. Despite maintaining the local department would not warrant a tax increase, voters expressed serious skepticism and say potential costs factored heavily in their decision.