Genesee County Sheriff's Office (New York)

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Genesee County Sheriff's Office
Abbreviation GCSO
220x140px
Patch of the Genesee County Sheriff's Office
Agency overview
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* County (US) of Genesee in the state of New York, USA
Map of New York highlighting Genesee County.svg
Map of Genesee County Sheriff's Office's jurisdiction.
Size 495 square miles (1,280 km2)
Population 60,370 (2000)
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Batavia, New York
Correction Officer

Deputy Sheriffs
25


39
Civilians 19
Agency executive Gary T. Maha, Sheriff
Website
Genesee County Sheriff's Website
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Genesse County Sheriff's Office is the major local law enforcement agency between Buffalo, New York and Rochester, New York. It is headquartered in Batavia, New York.[1][2] It is one of the busiest law enforcement agencies in western New York State, responding to more "index crimes" than any other agency in the area, 641 in 2007 alone.[3]

Responsibilities

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It is responsible for services such as: Law Enforcement, Emergency Communications, Civil Processes, Corrections, Community Services/Victim Assistance and Animal Control in the Genesse County Area.[2] The Sheriff's Office also has an Investigation and Road Patrol Division.[2]

Like most other states, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs in the State of New York are regular law-enforcement officers,[4] with full police powers and duties such as patrol work, prisoner transport, civil process, and court security.[5]

In most counties in N.Y., the Undersheriff is the Warden of the county jail.[6] In Genesee County, the sheriff has ultimate authority to operate the 80-bed county jail, built in 1985.[7] In this county, rather than an undersheriff, it is managed by a "jail superintendent" with 27 other employees and managers.[7]

The sheriff's office is also involved in pre-trial and post-release supervision.[8]

Elections and organization

Sheriffs in New York State (outside of New York City, Nassau and Westchester Counties) are elected for three or four-year terms, depending on the vote of the county government, specifically the county legislature.[9] This office is unusual in NY state in that a superintendent, rather than a titutlar undersheriff, runs the jail.[7]

The current sheriff is Gary T. Maha and the undersheriff is William A. Sheron, Jr.[1][2]

History

In 1895, a constable working for this sheriff's office was slain in the line of duty, the only known fatal casualty.[10] He was William Harvey Johnson, then 44 years old, was shot by a person he was serving with an arrest warrant; the suspect then committed suicide.[11]

The current Genesee County Jail was built in 1985.[7]

In June 2008, the office investigated a notorious arson-murder in Batavia.[12]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 USA cops web site. Last accessed July 3, 2008.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Genesee County, New York Sheriff's Office main web page. Accessed June 26, 2008.
  3. See NY Division of Criminal Justice Services official web site Index Crimes Reported: 2003 - 2007. Accessed June 26, 2008.
  4. New York State Sheriffs' Association Website
  5. For a detailed list of the duties and rights of Sheriff in N.Y., see N.Y. County Law, article 17, sections 650-662, found online at NYPublicLaw, type in CNT, then Article 17.
  6. See N.Y. County Law, article 17, sections 652, found online at NYPublicLaw, type in CNT, then Article 17, and finally click on 652.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "County Law, Article 17, Section 650, acknowledges the Sheriff as an Officer of the Court; Correction Law, Article 20, Section 500C, designates the Sheriff as custodian of the County Jail," from Genesee County government web site Jail page. Accessed June 26, 2008.
  8. NY State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives. Accessed June 26, 2008.
  9. N.Y. Constitution, Article 13, section 13. See [1] (pdf) at p. 41; see also [2] (html).
  10. The Officer Down Memorial Page. Accessed June 26, 2008.
  11. The Officer Down Memorial Page on William Harvey Johnson. Accessed June 26, 2008.
  12. "UPDATE: Cause of fatal Genesee County fire determined" Updated: June 1, 2008 at WITV News report. Accessed June 26, 2008.

External links