As she presided over the graduation of 238 new members of the New York State Police, Gov. Kathy Hochul urged them to be part of an effort to restore trust. 

"There's a lot of mistrust between communities and law enforcement," she said. "You are the individuals who are going to break down those barriers."

Her appearance at the graduation ceremony comes more than a month after Hochul was able to get a lot of what she wanted on what has been a hot-button political issue for her and her fellow Democrats in New York. Public safety has been a top-tier issue for voters alongside the cost of living and the issue dominated the governor's election campaign last year. 

In May, state lawmakers and Hochul agreed to a $229 billion budget that included adding more than $66 million to grow the number of State Police academy classes and increase the number of troopers who are dedicated to serious crime investigations. 

There was also more money to implement discovery law changes as well as a narrowing of the state's controversial cashless bail to give judges more discretion in some criminal cases. 

Hochul had previously won changes in the prior year's budget to the bail law, but the issue remained one of intense focus for Republicans in 2022. 

This year, Hochul will be considering whether to sign a bill to automatically seal an estimated 2 million criminal records, with sex crimes and serious felonies excluded.