Sheriff offers strong support for “brothers and sisters in NYS DOCCS”
From the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office,
It’s a beautiful day in Steuben County. I heard a goose this morning that was heading north, which is a sure sign of spring to come! February, however, brought back memories of upstate winters of old with weeks at a time below freezing! Frozen water pipes and water tanks in barns, ice fishermen driving onto the frozen lake to fish and iceboats sailing brought nostalgic memories of winters of old. For our patrol deputies, everything is more difficult in cold weather. Attempting to conduct standardized field sobriety tests when your teeth are chattering, and you can’t stop shivering is never optimal! Equipment breaks easier in the cold; batteries expire quicker, and icy interstates become terrifying skating rinks.
In February our brothers and sisters in NYS DOCCS faced the cold weather from a picket line. With never-before-seen levels of violence in our state prisons, and never before seen levels of mandatory overtime, our NYS Correction Officers became so desperate that they went on strike rather than continue to work in unworkable conditions. Our hearts go out to the Officers, their families and communities which all suffer from the lack of basic safety and security in their workplace. We also feel for the National Guardsmen who have been, in many cases, flown into state prisons to attempt to perform a job that takes years to master. Imagine being an 18-year-old Guardsman who last week was in college or stocking shelves and is now performing security in a state prison with murderers, rapists and other convicted felons. Imagine that person being sent in with little to no training, defenseless and completely unprepared for what they are about to see. It is extremely difficult to picture any leader condoning these actions, ignoring the rights of the Correction Officers and intentionally placing Guardsmen into such a dangerous and ill-prepared situation. Yet here we are and by all indications, here we will stay for quite some time, unless a true leader emerges at the state level.
In February, Sergeant Sorge and Deputy Butler taught another NYS Boater’s Safety Course, continuing our monthly presentation of this course. We hosted the NYS DCJS Basic Course in Corrections for our new Correction Officers as well as a Correction Officer from Schuyler County. Undersheriff McNelis and Deputy McCoy attended the C-PASS School Safety Conference presented by the NYS Sheriff’s Association. Deputy Donahue began the SWAT Operator Course in Livingston County. Captain Mills and Deputy B. Harrison attended the Police Defensive Firearms Instructor Training Course. Captain Mills and Lieutenant Wetherby attended the FBI LEEDA Executive Leadership Institute. Sheriff Allard was recognized by the Hornell City Republican Committee as “Republican of the Year”.
February was another busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office. Our investigators and deputies were tasked with one criminal possession of stolen property investigation, two terroristic threat investigations, two burglary investigations, one injury from discharge of a weapon investigation, four endangering a child investigations, four assault investigations, one jail contraband investigation, one scheme to defraud investigation, one welfare fraud investigation, one misuse of food stamps investigation, two sex offense investigations, two unauthorized use of a vehicle investigations, two death investigations, one disorderly conduct investigation, one resisting arrest investigation, two obstructing governmental administration investigations, six criminal contempt investigations, two filing a false instrument investigations, four fire investigations, four larceny investigations, three grand larceny investigations, one trespass investigation, four harassment investigations, seven criminal mischief investigations and four narcotics investigations. 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 eight intoxicated or impaired driving arrests.
All of our deputies and officers performed in an outstanding fashion, and we received multiple 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
