It’s a beautiful day in Steuben County. Summer is here, school is out, summer vacations have begun and our waterways are busy! Tourism continues to enhance our economy despite the rising fuel prices. I apologize for the tardiness of the newsletter. We took vacation during the first week of July to visit our daughter in Utah. It was beautiful there, and we had a great time, but nothing compares with home.
June was another busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office. Our investigators and deputies were tasked with three death investigations, seven assault investigations, seven burglary investigations, two animal abuse investigations, five grand larceny investigations, nine larceny investigations, five drug investigations, eight harassment investigations, one fire investigation, four sex offense investigations, two rape investigations, five criminal mischief investigations, two criminal contempt investigations and one terroristic threat investigation. Our Patrol Division was tasked with multiple domestic incident investigations along with crash investigations, completing six DWI/DWAI investigations and arrests. They also participated in the statewide “Click it or Ticket” campaign for seat belt compliance. We saw a marked increase in burglary and larceny cases over the previous months.
In June we hosted the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Training. This week long training taught by FBI instructors provided leadership training to agency administrators and supervisors. This training was attended by police administrators and supervisors from across New York State. Undersheriff McNelis, Lieutenant Logsdon, Lieutenant Harrison and Corporal Hawk of the Sheriff’s Office attended. We also hosted the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) instructor course for suicide prevention and crisis intervention in county jails. Our K-9 handlers attended a certification seminar in Owego, New York and received national certification for Daimon, Twiggy and Mac. Deputy Shepherd (no relation to the K-9 program) attended and received certification in Crash Reconstruction through NYS DCJS. Sheriff Allard attended the National Sheriff’s Association Conference as a member of the School Safety Committee and Public Outreach Committee. He attended a seminar which included interviewing a convicted school shooter and a convicted serial killer. The information was both frightening and enlightening.
In June we also hosted another pistol permit class. All pistol permit applicants prior to September 1, 2022, fall under the current licensing provisions. However, any applicant after September 1, 2022 will fall under the recently passed provisions for pistol permit issuance. We are in contact with NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services to make sure that we are ready for the new training and certification mandates. We will continue to monitor and assess this rapidly developing situation.
We continue to pray for those who have lost family members due to the pandemic and for all Ukrainians suffering under Russian aggression.
Thank you for supporting the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in these challenging times and stay safe!
Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard
