Monthly Newsletter April 2023
It’s a beautiful day in Steuben County. The sun is shining and the trees are budding. The beauty of spring is almost upon us! Last Friday I was honored to attend the Southern Tier Law Enforcement Academy graduation and welcome 18 new police officers to our region. It was inspiring to see men and women who, in spite of the negative national media representation and constant vilification by certain members of our New York State government, made the choice to become public servants and to protect our communities. It was a truly humbling ceremony. Earlier in the month, we said goodbye to a neighbor in law enforcement, retired Sheriff Mike Maloney of Schuyler County. Sheriff Maloney left an enormous stamp on the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement in the region. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and the staff at the Sheriff’s Office.
In March, we welcomed a new addition to the Sheriff’s Office. K9 Tripp, a thirteen week-old bloodhound, arrived and was assigned to Deputy McCoy to begin training for tracking and trailing certification. K9 Tripp is named after Correction Officer Peggy Tripp, a person who served the Sheriff’s Office as a Correction Officer for many years, as a mentor in the jail. CO Tripp retired and succumbed to cancer within a year of retirement. She was a fighter and battled to the end. We hope that K9 Tripp demonstrates those same qualities. K9 Tripp was donated to the Sheriff’s Office by the Kiwi Hunting Services, of Texas. We are honored and grateful for their support and generosity to our mission. Deputy McCoy and K9 Tripp are in training and you may see Tripp at either Hornell or Arkport Schools with Deputy McCoy!
We also said goodbye and Godspeed to a thirty two year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, CO Eugene Kennedy. CO Kennedy retired in March, but we are fortunate enough to have him returning as a part time officer for Court Security in April. Thank you, Gene, for your service and dedication to Steuben County.
At the Sheriff’s Office, your public servants were busy again. We hosted and instructed the NYS DCJS Field Training Officer (FTO) Course, certifying eighteen new FTOs in area police departments including Corporal Day, Deputy Schafer, Deputy B. Harrison, Officer Audinwood, Officer Brown, Officer Bossick, Officer Erskine, Officer Labar, Officer Parson, Officer Phelps and Officer Smith. Lieutenant Wetherby, Sergeant Towner, Officer Stanford, Deputy Butler, Deputy Martin and Deputy Owen attended the NYS DCJS Instructor Development Course and Field Training Officer Course held at the Southern Tier Law Enforcement Academy and are now certified as general topics instructors and field training officers. Deputies instructed CRASE and STOP the BLEED at Avoca Central School in March and Undersheriff McNelis attended the second half of Threat Assessment Management at the NYS Department of Homeland Security in Oriskany, after attending our quarterly school safety meeting with the Steuben school district Superintendents.
March was another busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office. Our investigators and deputies were tasked with five death investigations, three assault investigations, three strangulation or choking investigations, twelve burglary investigations (over twice the previous month), two forgery investigations, three fire investigations, four welfare fraud investigations, five larceny investigations, six grand larceny investigations, seven drug investigations, seven harassment investigations, four criminal mischief investigations, six criminal contempt investigations, two terroristic threat investigations, five sex offense investigations, three endangering a child investigations, two menacing investigations and one jail contraband investigation. Our Patrol Division was tasked with multiple domestic incident investigations along with a fatal crash investigation and mental health detainments, including two intoxicated or impaired driving arrests.
All of our deputies and officers performed in an outstanding fashion and we received one commendation from community members detailing the excellence of service they received.
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
