January 19, 2010
Mayor Hatheway & the Geneseo Village Board
119 Main Street
Geneseo, New York 14454
Re: Annual Report for 2009
Dear Mayor Hatheway & the Geneseo Village Board:
Attached hereto please find the Geneseo Police Department annual report for 2009. Once you have read the report, it is hoped that the Village Board Members will have gained a more thorough understanding of the Village Police Department. As always, this Department appreciates your time and ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Eric Osganian
Chief of Police
Department Staff
The department was comprised of a Chief of Police and seven full-time sworn officers. In addition, the department employed four part-time sworn police officers, a part-time civilian secretary and a part-time civilian meter attendant who also doubles as our animal control officer.
It should be noted that the day-to-day activities and the handling of complaints are done by the full-time police officers. The part-time police officers supplement the schedule and cannot be relied upon for consistent shift coverage.
According to the 2007 Census estimate, the Village of Geneseo has approximately 7,660 people in residence. This calculates to a ratio of one full-time officer for every 958 residents.
During 2009 the staff of the Police Department included:
Chief of Police Eric Osganian
Sergeant Dana Carson
Full-Time Officers Jeffrey Szczesniak
Daniel Piedmonte
Raymond Goulet
Jason Yasso & K9 Rosko
David Beers
Daniel McLaughlin
Part-Time Officers Edward Kenney
Jesse Cole
Benjamin Swanson
Robert Fuller (military duty in Afghanistan)
Part-Time Secretary Deborah Yamonaco
Part-Time Dog Control/ Dean O’Keefe
Parking Attendant
During 2009, the Geneseo Police Department maintained six patrol cars. Five patrol cars were Ford Crown Victoria’s and one patrol car was a Dodge Charger.
Calls for Service
“Call for Service” is what the police department refers to as the service call or complaint. Very broad, this work encompasses criminal complaints; disorderly person(s); lost property of all kinds; assisting a stranded motorist; assisting the ambulance; traffic control; assist another agency; special events or parades; property checks and any other instance where citizens might desire the services of the Police Department.
One of the more frequent occurrences is the ‘Traffic Complaint”. A traffic complaint can consist of anything from a motorist violating a traffic law to possible road rage. These types of complaints have increased due to the increase in our vehicular traffic in the Village. Geneseo Police Officers responded to these complaints 211 times during 2009.
Seemingly a routine call, the call for service is often the most important call to the police. It provides contact between the public and the Geneseo Police Department. This contact continues to number in the thousands every year.
As you can see from the graph below, the Geneseo Police Department’s “Calls for Service” have been constant. Geneseo Police officers handled 7,857 service calls for 2009. This is a slight increase from last year. These “Calls for Service” totals for the past few years clearly show that Geneseo Police officers are busy every day.
Accidents
During 2009, Geneseo Police officers filed 159 motor vehicle accident reports. This is a slight increase from last year. Compared to 2005, we have seen a consistent decrease in motor vehicle accidents. This overall decrease may be attributed to the increase in traffic enforcement and awareness by the Geneseo Police Department.
A breakdown of the accidents is as follows:
|
Accidents
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
|
Property Damage
|
176
|
119
|
124
|
116
|
127
|
|
Personal Injury
|
16
|
12
|
8
|
10
|
13
|
|
Pedestrian Accidents
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Fatalities
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
|
Hit and Run Accidents
|
35
|
37
|
20
|
21
|
19
|
|
Totals
|
229
|
168
|
152
|
149
|
159
|
The Police Department has received over $42,800 in grant funding for our Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) from New York State. These funds are used for the enforcement of aggressive driving violations, in order to keep accidents at a minimum, despite the increasing number of vehicles that pass through our Village.
Traffic Arrests
During 2009, a total of 2,723 traffic tickets were issued by Geneseo Police officers. This is a slight decrease from last year. For the third year in a row, the Geneseo Police Department filed more DWI arrests than any other local police department in Livingston County. A chart is featured below.
A breakdown of some the traffic tickets shown in the graph above are as follows:
|
Charge
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
|
Driving While Intoxicated
|
63
|
78
|
78
|
53
|
40
|
|
Speeding
|
351
|
363
|
509
|
572
|
590
|
|
Equipment Violations
|
283
|
257
|
409
|
374
|
282
|
|
Fail to Obey a Traffic Device
|
240
|
280
|
236
|
224
|
295
|
|
Fail to Yield to Pedestrians
|
104
|
86
|
20
|
10
|
12
|
|
Driver’s License Violations
|
111
|
146
|
204
|
245
|
218
|
|
Stop Sign Violations
|
96
|
149
|
116
|
103
|
55
|
|
Passed School Bus Violations
|
1
|
1
|
7
|
2
|
2
|
|
Registration Violations
|
37
|
62
|
81
|
85
|
139
|
|
Insurance Violations
|
30
|
65
|
151
|
159
|
205
|
|
Seat Belt Violations
|
210
|
169
|
306
|
229
|
318
|
|
Inspection Violations
|
103
|
204
|
260
|
245
|
131
|
|
Total Traffic Tickets Issued
|
1,904
|
2,056
|
2,624
|
2,733
|
2,723
|
Parking Enforcement
Parking enforcement continues to be a major part of a police officer’s job in Geneseo. A total of 2,086 parking tickets were issued during 2009. This is a 32% decrease from the 2,749 parking tickets issued in 2008.
Part-time employee Dean O’Keefe is solely responsible for the issuance of parking tickets in the metered areas of the business district of the Village. Mr. O’Keefe, at times, will also handle a parking complaint in other areas of the Village. During 2009, Mr. O’Keefe issued 291 metered violations tickets, which is a substantial decrease from 1,124 issued in 2008.
Uniform personnel issued 1,795 tickets during the course of their patrols. This is a slight increase from the 1,625 tickets issued in 2008. These tickets range from a $10.00 fine to a $50.00 fine.
The total amounts collected from the meters and parking fines amounted to $58,997.76.
This is a 10% decrease from last year’s amount of $64,692.36.
Court Fines
Enforcement efforts by Geneseo Police officers amounted to approximately $368,939 in fines being collected by the Geneseo Village Justices for 2009. The Geneseo Village Court ranks 167 out of 1,257 Justice Courts in New York State in total revenue reported. This is a slight decrease from last year’s amount of $377,395.50; however this does not include the monies from the Livingston County’s Traffic Diversion Program, which was started in April of 2009.
Of this total amount, approximately $147,159 was returned from the New York State Comptrollers Office to the Village in the form of revenue. The Village also received $17,300 in Traffic Diversion revenue from the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office.
The Village collected approximately $94,073 for Vehicle & Traffic fines; approximately $32,413 for Village Code violations; and approximately $20,673 for Penal Law arrests.
Criminal Investigations
Under the provisions of Section 837 of the New York State Executive Law, the Division of Criminal Services (DCJS) is the agency which is authorized to direct and operate the Uniform Crime Report program for the Federal Government. All New York State Village, Town, City, County and State law enforcement agencies are required to send monthly crime statistics to “DCJS”.
In 1965, the Geneseo Police Department recorded 195 criminal investigations. During 2009, Geneseo Police officers were called upon to investigate 767 criminal incidents. The chart below represents some of the crime reported by the Geneseo Police Department to DCJS for the past five years:
|
Category
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
|
Murder/Manslaughter
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Robbery
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Assault
|
9
|
9
|
10
|
13
|
14
|
|
Burglary/Trespass
|
37
|
37
|
36
|
38
|
24
|
|
Criminal Mischief
|
106
|
111
|
110
|
87
|
78
|
|
Larceny
|
216
|
216
|
100
|
99
|
109
|
|
Fraud Offenses
|
5
|
10
|
12
|
12
|
11
|
|
Vehicle Theft
|
2
|
5
|
5
|
3
|
4
|
|
Disorderly Conduct
|
41
|
41
|
28
|
57
|
40
|
|
Harassment
|
59
|
73
|
66
|
71
|
67
|
|
Drug Violations
|
34
|
43
|
45
|
32
|
27
|
|
Alcohol Violations
|
93
|
52
|
59
|
87
|
89
|
|
Sex Offenses
|
10
|
11
|
13
|
6
|
6
|
|
Family Offenses
|
10
|
11
|
18
|
30
|
34
|
|
DWI Offenses
|
63
|
78
|
78
|
53
|
40
|
|
Unattended Deaths
|
1
|
7
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
|
Total Cases Investigated
|
800
|
909
|
786
|
802
|
767
|
Criminal Arrests
During 2009, Geneseo Officers made 404 arrests, which resulted in 488 charges being filed with the Village Court. This is a slight decrease from last year.
The chart below highlights some of the charges.
|
Category
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
|
Robbery
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
|
Assault
|
3
|
6
|
8
|
7
|
8
|
|
Burglary
|
4
|
7
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
Sex Offenses (all types)
|
4
|
3
|
7
|
3
|
2
|
|
Trespass
|
10
|
16
|
10
|
7
|
7
|
|
Criminal Mischief
|
6
|
12
|
14
|
9
|
14
|
|
Disorderly Conduct
|
31
|
21
|
26
|
49
|
34
|
|
Drug Violations
|
28
|
34
|
34
|
22
|
26
|
|
Harassment (all types)
|
17
|
17
|
23
|
25
|
25
|
|
Larceny (all types)
|
30
|
38
|
32
|
28
|
30
|
|
Warrant Arrests
|
38
|
36
|
31
|
38
|
28
|
|
Open Container
|
34
|
29
|
32
|
47
|
30
|
|
Underage Drinking
|
64
|
25
|
34
|
31
|
45
|
|
Loud Noise Violations
|
13
|
19
|
30
|
22
|
19
|
Grants/Funding
The Geneseo Police Department was able to apply for several Federal, State and
Local Grants, totaling $84,962.15 in 2009. Some of the funding will carry over into the year 2010. A breakdown of the funding is as follows:
A child safety grant for $3,200. This grant pays for child safety seats and allows a trained police officer to administer check points. These check points allow the officer to check if the safety seat is fitted properly. An estimated 95% of safety seats are not properly fitted.
Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant for $10,850. This grant pays for overtime costs for traffic enforcement. The goal of this grant is to reduce the amount of accidents we have during the year.
A Buckle Up New York grant in the amount of $5,950. The money is to be used for overtime wages to enforce the seat belt laws. The Village has an estimated 94% compliance seatbelt usage rate, which is higher than the State average of 88%.
A Division of Criminal Justice Services initiative grant for $1,300 for the purchase of two DWI pre-screen devices.
A grant in the amount of $1,014 from the US Department of Justice to purchase three bullet proof vests.
STOP DWI funding in the amount of $18,648.15 from Sheriff York. This money was used to purchase police radios; a desktop computer; overtime wages for traffic enforcement; stop sticks and net-motion software licenses.
The Police Department was given equipment for winning the 2008 Law Enforcement Challenge Award, which included two hand held radar devices. Equipment totaled $4,000.
A $40,000 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) cooperation grant with the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office to purchase interviewing equipment.
The Police Department has been able to obtain a total of $391,295.07 in funding, since January of 2004.
Training
During 2009, the Geneseo Police Department continued to keep its police force trained and knowledgeable. Training is a consistent and continual process. This training has assisted Geneseo Police officers in accommodating the growing needs and requirements of the Village community.
Below is a breakdown of some of the training courses Geneseo Police officers attended in 2009:
Continuing K9 training
Prisoner transport training
Mandated Reporter training
Safe Schools Initiative
Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee E-Grants training
Mental Health training
DWI training- District Attorney’s Office
Mobile Computer Terminal training
Standard Field Sobriety Instructor training
First responder to barricaded subject training
Bank alarm training
DWI training for Prosecutors and Police
Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Conference Seminar
Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving
Preliminary Investigation training
Live-Scan Training
Breath-Test Operator recertification
Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving
Defensive Tactics training
STOP Stick training/ SFST refresher
Mandated Reporter training for Police
License Plate Reader training
E-Justice Use Role Assignment training
Property/Evidence Room training
Active Shooter training
Range Qualification
NY Prosecutors DWI training
Prescription Drug training
Car-Fit training
OSHA training/TB test
Supervisor training
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus training
Drug Recognition Evaluation training
Year in Review
Our general complaints increased slightly in 2009. We also saw the number of burglary, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct complaints decrease. I believe that this can be attributed to the proactive enforcement of the quality of life issues by Geneseo Police officers. This proactive enforcement becomes difficult as the Village grows and attracts more people. The Police Department also saw an increase in motor vehicle accidents in 2009.
The Police Department has continued to be proactive with grant funding. Since 2004, we have been able to obtain over $390,000 in funding. This has given the Police Department the ability to increase its technological equipment and its services to the community. Grant funding in 2009 also enabled the Police Department to purchase: child safety seats for the community; bullet proof vests for the officers; DWI equipment including new pre-screens devices and new radar units; new police radios; a new desktop computer for traffic record keeping; as well as providing overtime wages for traffic safety enforcement.
The Police Department performed several traffic safety programs throughout 2009. Traffic safety has become a major part of a police officers job, due to the increasing number of vehicles and pedestrians that travel in the Village. The Village also attracts numerous parades, races and walks every year, more than any other Village or Town in Livingston County. In order to limit the number of motor vehicle accidents the Police Department participated in numerous traffic safety and enforcement events in 2009, such as New York State’s Campaign Safe and Sober, Buckle-Up New York, Operation Safe Stop-Passed Stopped School Bus enforcement, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, Speed Awareness, Child Safety Seat Inspections, and Bicycle Safety. These efforts have helped keep the number of motor vehicle crashes to a minimum.
Our K9 program continued throughout 2009. Officer Jason Yasso and K9 Rosko performed numerous presentations upon request. K9 Rosko received his New York State certification in narcotic searches in 2009. This has led to an increase in narcotic searches for us, as well as for the surrounding police agencies who request Rosko’s services.
The Police Department has also been active with respect to its community programs. The Police Department offers a property check program, where we make periodic checks of our resident’ properties while they are away. This gives our residents a peace of mind that their property is being looked after while they are not home. The Police Department has also been active with respect to our Kid Id Kit Program. We have fingerprinted youths at the Geneseo Central School. We also offer a child safety seat program, in which we install and give out safety seats. During 2009, we also gave away free bicycle helmets to those youths that need them.
The Police Department continued its enforcement of the underage drinking laws. In 2009, the Police Department began receiving additional underage drinking reports from the SUNY Geneseo University Police Department. Throughout 2009, the Police Department investigated approximately 120 reports of underage drinking and illegal alcohol possession complaints. The Police Department investigated two SUNY Geneseo fraternity houses where alcohol was provided to underage youths. On September 8, 2009 the Police Department began an investigation into the DK Fraternity House on Franklin Street, where five underage youths were taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Then again on September 16, 2009, the Police Department began an investigation into the Alpha Chi Rho (Crow) Fraternity House on Court Street, where another underage youth was taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. With assistance from the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office, both fraternities were faced with charges for Unlawfully Dealing with a Child. The DK Fraternity agreed to give a $5,000 donation to the Geneseo Ambulance in lieu of criminal charges. The Alpha Chi Rho Fraternity agreed to give the Teresa House a $5,000 donation in lieu of criminal charges.
Noteworthy Criminal Cases:
On March 8, 2009 Geneseo Officers responded to Meadow Drive for an ambulance call. Upon arrival Geneseo Officers suspected foul play. After an investigation was conducted and with the assistance of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations Unit (BCI) of the New York State Police, Geneseo Officers arrested George Robinson, age 34. George is originally from the Albany, NY area. George assaulted his girlfriend while at their apartment on Meadow Drive. The girlfriend was taken to Strong Hospital with life threatening injuries. Robinson subsequently pled guilty in Livingston County Court and received 6 years imprisonment in a New York State facility with an additional 5 years post release supervision.
On June 22, a joint investigation between the New York State Police and the Geneseo Police Department has resulted in the arrest of Timothy Eagan, age 29 from Piffard, NY. Allegedly, Eagan had sexual contact with three individuals under the age of six years old. The incidents took place in the Village of Geneseo, Town of Groveland and in Piffard. Eagan was charged Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree (B-Felony) in the Village of Geneseo. Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree is when he or she engages in oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct with another person less than eleven years old. Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree is a B Felony. Eagan was arraigned in front of Geneseo Justice Bradley Janson and remanded to the Livingston County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash / $200,000 bond.
On June 25, 2009 at approximately 3am, officers from the Geneseo Police Department responded to the rear of 86 Court Street for a Robbery in progress. Upon investigation officers arrested Brian Jarvis, age 33 from Leicester, NY with Robbery in the Third Degree (D-Felony), Petit Larceny, and Harassment in the Second Degree. Allegedly, Jarvis forcibly stole $100 from another person by punching the person and subsequently stealing his money. Jarvis then fled the scene. Jarvis was arraigned in front of Geneseo Justice Thomas Bushnell and remanded to the Livingston County Jail without bail. Jarvis has prior felony convictions. In December, a Grand Jury was held and indicted Jarvis on the above charges.
The Geneseo Police Department received awards in 2009:
The Police Department received two awards at this year’s Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Conference. One award was for “Best in Class” and the other for “Best in State”. This is the third year we have received this award. The award recognizes our efforts in the area of traffic safety, as well as having a comprehensive traffic safety program, which encompasses issues including Impaired Driving; Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety; Occupant Protection; Child Passenger Seat Safety; Speed Awareness; and Underage Drinking Prevention. All these efforts helped reduce the number of property damage and personal injury motor vehicle accidents in the Village of Geneseo in 2008. Along with the awards, we also received two separate radar units; both worth approximately $4,000.
The Geneseo Police Department received second place in the National Law Enforcement Challenge Award. The National Law Enforcement Challenge Award is sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The Police Department competed against over 530 other police departments across the Country. This award recognized the Geneseo Police Department’s outstanding performance in the area of traffic safety and having a comprehensive traffic safety program, which encompasses issues including Impaired Driving; Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety; Occupant Protection; Child Passenger Seat Safety; Speed Awareness; and Underage Drinking Prevention. All these efforts helped reduce the number of property damage and personal injury motor vehicle accidents in the Village of Geneseo in 2008. The Police Department accepted the award at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado on October 6.