“At the Sheriff’s Office, your public servants were busy”
It’s a beautiful day in Steuben County. It would appear that March both came in like a lamb and left like a lamb this year! Another week of chilly weather now in the beginning of April then it should warm up for the eclipse!
Last weekend we saw how dangerous our law enforcement profession can be. As we continue to pray for the quick and full recovery of Chemung County Investigator Theetge, our heart goes out to his family and co-workers as they endured the horror of his injury and the aftermath, culminating in the arrest of the alleged operator of the vehicle that caused his injury. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Mike and his family as well as his Sheriff’s Office family.
April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. Here in Steuben County, a little over three years ago, partnering with the Department of Social Services and the District Attorney’s Office, we worked diligently to establish a Children’s Advocacy Center to assist in forensic interviews of victims of child abuse. We established both a fixed location and a mobile crisis unit to assist our local police departments in over 300 cases each year, to gain justice for those who have been misused at the hands of predators. Hats off to the caseworkers and investigators that specialize in these crimes. They do an amazing job in a very difficult arena!
At the Sheriff’s Office, your public servants were busy again. Our Corrections Division was still busy conducting a second Basic Course in Corrections for our full-time Officers. Officer Simpson successfully intercepted a suicide attempt by an inmate and saved that person’s life. Great job Officer Simpson! In the jail we also said goodbye to Lieutenant Lauran Harrison. Lieutenant Harrison left our team to become the new Jail Superintendent for the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office. We are sad to see her leave but are proud of what she has accomplished and look forward to watching her journey as she leads the Tompkins County Jail. Deputy Robinson was commended for saving the life of a severely bleeding person, Deputy Bush attended the Law Enforcement Human Trafficking Training in Schuyler County, Sergeant Day and Investigator Brown attended an FBI SWAT Leadership training with members of the Elmira Police SWAT Team in Quantico, Virginia. Deputy Gage Harrison, Deputy Bush, Investigator Martin, Investigator Payne, CO Erskine, CO Hann and CO Parsons completed DCJS certification as Crime Scene Technicians and Evidence Collection Specialists. Deputies Nybeck, Andrews, G. Harrison, Kidder and Schafer completed and are certified in the NYS DCJS Breath Analysis Operator course. Deputy Butler was certified as a Breath Analysis Instructor at the same course. Sheriff Allard attended the Campbell and Addison Volunteer Fire Department Banquets. Congratulations to both agencies for another successful year!
March was another busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office. Our investigators and deputies were tasked with one death investigation, three assault investigations, three possession of a weapon investigations, three burglary investigations, one unlawful imprisonment investigation, one bail jumping investigation, three criminal contempt investigations, one stalking investigation, one resisting arrest investigation, one prison contraband investigation, three endangering the welfare of a child investigations, four fire investigations, ten larceny investigations, three grand larceny investigations, ten harassment investigations, one welfare fraud investigation, five criminal mischief investigations, two narcotics investigations, two sexual misconduct investigations, one terroristic threat investigation, one rape investigation, two trespass investigations, two menacing investigations and one fugitive from justice investigation. Our Patrol Division was tasked with multiple domestic incident investigations along with mental health detainments, emergency medical aid, assisting other agencies, serving of warrants, and two intoxicated or impaired driving arrests.
All of our deputies and officers performed in an outstanding fashion and we received two commendations from the public regarding their outstanding performance.
We continue to pray for our first responder colleagues and deployed military across the globe, as well as their families. We also pray for the victims of mass casualty events and state sponsored aggression.
Thank you for supporting the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in these challenging times and stay safe!
Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard
