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Volume 401                                                                                                                       February 17, 2017
File 25
News of the NYS Sheriffs' Association
Registration Open for the 11th Annual  Statewide  Conference  on Victim Notification
The 11th Annual Statewide Conference on Victim Notification will take place on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at the Radisson Hotel on Wolf Road in Albany, NY. Hosted by the NYS Sheriffs’ Institute, the conference takes place each year during National Crime Victims Rights’ Week. This year’s NCVRW theme is: Strength, Relilience, Justice.  Click here for more information and to register.
82nd Annual Winter Conference Recap
Sheriffs from across the state, law enforcement leaders, and business partners gathered at the Desmond in Albany in January for the 83rd Annual Winter Training Conference. Sessions included: 

  • Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco discussing “The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Approach to Handling ICE Detainees”;

  • Herkimer County Sheriff Christopher Farber, Chairman, Jail Committee and NYSSA Counsel Thomas Mitchell providing a “Review of Current Jail Issues”;

  • Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike, MPTC Chairman and NSA Board Member, providing an update to the sheriffs on current police training issues; 

  • Jonathan Bernstein and Shannon T. O’Connor with the Goldberg Segalla Law Firm speaking about “Legal Considerations In The Use Of  Body Cameras”; 

  • Lieutenant Michael J. Gabrielson with the  Kettering, Ohio Police Department discussing animal fighting investigations and their relationship to violent crime; 

  • Joseph M. Hanna and Dennis P. Glasscott with the Goldberg Segalla Law Firm providing a review of current legislative proposals to regulate drone activity in New York;

  • Bureau Chief Lourdes M. Rosado, Civil Rights Bureau, New York State Office of the Attorney Generals Office discussing Attorney General Schneiderman's recent report to law enforcement agencies entitled  “NYS OAG Guidance on Local Authority Participation In Immigration Enforcement"
In addition, t he sheriffs received reports from the heads of most the state's major law enforcement entities, including:  Rachel Small, Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Public Safety ; Commissioner John Melville of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services;  Executive Deputy Commissioner Mike Green of the Division of Criminal Justice Services; Deputy Department of Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Mike Wood, and d Superintendent George Beach of the New York State Police.

Don Marriott of Trinity Service Group (left), Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero (center) and Seneca County Sheriff Tim Luce (right) at the Trade Show at our Annual Winter Conference. Photo by Thomas Rocco. 
Oswego County Sheriff Reuel Todd (left) and Herkimer County Sheriff Chris Farber (right) with Rachel Small, Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Public Safety (center) who provided an update to the Sheriffs from her office. Photo by Thomas Rocco. 
Herkimer County Sheriff Chris Farber (center) with Jonathan Bernstein (left) and Shannon O'Connor (right) of Goldberg Segalla Law Firm who presented on Legal Considerations in the Use of Body Cameras at our Winter Conference. Photo by Thomas Rocco. 
Installation of Association Officers, Executive Committee Members & Trustees
The Sheriffs' Association held its elections at our 83rd Annual Winter Conference in January. Assemblyman Joseph Giglio swore in Cattaraugus County Sheriff Tim Whitcomb as the new president of the Association. Former Cattaraugus County Sheriff Jerry Burrell looked on approvingly. Outgoing Association President Herkimer County Sheriff Chris Farber passed the gavel to Sheriff Whitcomb.  Please click here for our full slate of officers. 
2017 Officers, Executive Committee Members and Trustees of the NYS Sheriffs' Association are sworn in at our Annual Winter Training Conference in January. Photo by Thomas Rocco.  
Cattaraugus County Sheriff Tim Whitcomb (left) is sworn in as President of the NYS Sheriffs' Association by NYS Assemblyman Joseph Giglio (right) and Former Cattaraugus County Sheriff Jerry Burrell (center) at the Association's 83rd Annual Winter Training Conference at the Desmond in Albany in January. Photo by Thomas Rocco. 
Wayne County Lieutenant Stephen Sklenar Promoted to Chief Deputy
Wayne County Sheriff Barry Virts announces the promotion of Lieutenant Stephen Sklenar to the rank of Chief Deputy effective December 30, 2016. The new Chief Deputy is a 43-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office.

In 2012, Chief Deputy Sklenar led the Civil Office Accreditation process for his office. In 2015, he received the prestigious Carl Draxler Award from the Sheriffs’ Association for his career achievement.

Chief Deputy Sklemar currently chairs the committee to align NYSSA's Civil Accreditation Standards with the Standards of Law Enforcement Accreditation, and assisted NYSSA Counsel Tom Mitchell in re-writing the current Civil Office Accreditation Standards.

Chief Deputy Sklenar was an original member of the Sheriff’s Office Special Teams: Scuba Team, Emergency Response Team (Leader and Commander) and Crash Management Reconstruction Team. 

"Chief Deputy Sklenar, throughout his career, has exhibited continued dedication and commitment to the Wayne County Office of Sheriff in all aspects of his assignments and responsibilities, almost always above and beyond what is required. He has changed with the times and in most cases trained himself with the ever-changing technologies presented to the law enforcement profession to lead the Wayne County Office of Sheriff in these new evolutions of change and progression," Sheriff Virts said.
Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith
Appoints Undersheriff

Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith has appointed recently retired First Sgt. Paul Boscia to serve as the new Putnam County Undersheriff, filling the opening left with the sudden passing late last year of Undersheriff Peter Convery.

Sheriff Smith said Mr. Boscia is “a great leader and great trainer having been a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force," adding "It made good sense to find a man who could hit the ground running, a man who knew the department and who was admired and respected by all of the members of our department and correctional facility.” 

Mr. Boscia joined the sheriff’s office in August 1988 initially serving as a corrections officer before moving up the ladder to deputy, canine officer, sergeant and, on January 1, 2008, Mr. Boscia, who is a graduate of the FBI Academy, was promoted to the rank of first sergeant. His son Matt is a Deputy Sheriff in Putnam County.
Sheriffs in the News
Photo (standing l - r): Allegany County Corrections Officer Steve Herdman, Corrections Officer Randy Cole, Corrections Officer Dan Linnecke, Deputy Sgt. Andy Bigelow and Deputy Lt. Shawn Grusendorf; seated Sheriff Ricky Whtney 

Allegany County Sheriff Ricky Whitney shared the results of his annual “Beard for Bucks” program where officers can grow a beard from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 if they donate $25.00 to the “Shop with a Cop” program. Sheriff Whitney joined in the program this year and $1,450.00 was raised.

Photo l-r, Allegany County Deputy Jared Akins, Corrections Officer Bob Brooks, Corrections Officer Chauncey Weaver, Corrections Officer Cory Fanton and Corrections Sgt. Craig Cornell, all participants in the Beards for Bucks program.

Prior to Christmas, 20 officers from all over Allegany County, including 9 from the Sheriff’s Office, participated in the Allegany County Shop with a Cop program, taking 98 local children Christmas shopping. 


Photo l-r: Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike, Corrections Lieutenant Clay Rugar and Undersheriff Howard Davis
 
Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike announces the retirement of Corrections Lieutenant Clay Rugar. Lt. Rugar served the people of Yates county for 31 years with distinction. Her served as Yates County Jail Administrator since 2001. Sheriff Spike presented an Award of Gratitude to Lt. Rugar on his last day of work, December 30, 2016.
Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard is featured in a national video promoting firearms safety. The National Shooting Sports Foundation interviewed Sheriff Howard this past summer and shared his thoughts on gun locks, gun safety and responsibility. According to Sheriff Howard, 99% of gun-related accidents are preventable.

Sheriff Howard said that, as in most counties, pistol permit applications in Erie County have been  sharply on the rise and his staff that handle the  applications is very busy on a daily basis. View Video.
Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett has received special recognition from the Department of Defense. Sheriff Bartlett and his Office were honored by the National Guard and Reserve for being a Patriotic Employer. This award recognizes  employers who supports citizen soldiers with allowances like flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployments, caring for families, and granting leaves of absence if needed.

Sheriff Bartlett was nominated by Deputy Peter Marante, a Sergeant with the National Guard. "I will continue to support veterans during and outside of deployments, but I am very happy to have Deputy Merante back working for me," said Sheriff Bartlett.
New York City Sheriff Joe Fucito's office seized two buses operated by Yep Tours in January and collected $15,000 in fines on the spot. According to State Sen. Daniel Squadron, the seizure occurred because Yep had failed to pay fines for tickets received for failing to abide by legal drop off and pick up locations. 

As the Sheriff was seizing the buses on Pike Street in New York City, (pictured above) Yep employees came up with the entire amount in cash. The buses were then placed back in circulation. “There is a new sheriff in town,” said Squadron, “and it’s the same New York City Sheriff doing great work....It’s proof that a good law needs good enforcement.” Read more here.
Allegany County Sheriff's Office Deploys Sheriffs' Association Video Program

Allegany County Sheriff Ricky Whitney, Undersheriff Kevin Monroe and IT Director Keith Hooker just deployed 3 portable video systems in the county using the Sheriffs' Association's Public Safety & Justice Portal  video cloud network (hosted by CDW-G and using Cisco video endpoints).

The Problem: Allegany County saw a need to improve its training services and wanted to look at video telepresence as an option. CDW-G and Cisco worked with the County to understand their requirements and design a mobile solution to meet their needs.

The Solution: The County invested in three Cisco SX-20 conference room video systems mounted on rolling carts. Dual 60” displays will show both the video presenter and on-screen content. One of the displays is a multi-function smart-board device that can be used for sharing multiple media content including white-board drawings

The Results: The new system supports remote delivery of a range of training classes including enhanced educational services for inmates, enhanced training for sheriff’s office staff and, through a partnership with the county EMS council, training for an upcoming paramedic course. County departments planning to use the service include the Sheriff Office, Employment and Training and a local training service called Literacy West. Other departments may be joining as well.

Any Sheriff who is interested in learning more about the many applications for NYSSA's CDW-G/Cisco video program should contact Chuck Gallo at NYSSA (cgallo@nysheriffs.org).
Traffic Safety News
St. Patrick's Day Drunk Driving Prevention, March 2017
St. Patrick’s Day is March 17th, and we continually see a spike in drunk-driving crashes on this date every year.

Use NHTSA's marketing tools to reach out to your community about the dangers of drinking and driving on this day. These materials will partner your office with other States, communities, and organizations on this drunk driving prevention initiative: NHTSA Traffic Safety Website.
Our Diamond Partners
 
 




 New York State Sheriffs' Association | 518-434-9091 | www.nysheriffs.org