January 19, 2011
Mayor Hatheway & the Geneseo Village Board
119 Main Street
Geneseo, New York 14454
Re: Annual Report for 2010
Dear Mayor Hatheway & the Geneseo Village Board:
Attached hereto please find the Geneseo Police Department annual report for 2010. 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 2009 Census fact sheet estimate, the Village of Geneseo has approximately 8,047 people in residence. This calculates to a ratio of one full-time officer for every 1,005 residents.
During 2010 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
Benjamin Swanson
Part-Time Officers Edward Kenney
Jesse Cole
Christopher Matteson
Aaron Chase
Robert Fuller (military duty in Afghanistan)
Part-Time Secretary Deborah Yamonaco
Part-Time Dog Control/ Dean O’Keefe
Parking Attendant
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 214 times during 2010.
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 9,135 service calls for 2010. 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 2010, Geneseo Police officers filed 138 motor vehicle accident reports. This is a decrease compared to last year. Compared to 2005, we have seen a decrease in motor vehicle accidents. This overall decrease may be attributed to the increase in traffic enforcement, education and awareness by the Geneseo Police Department.
A breakdown of the accidents shown in the graph above is as follows:
|
Accidents
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
|
Property Damage
|
176
|
119
|
124
|
116
|
127
|
103
|
|
Personal Injury
|
16
|
12
|
8
|
10
|
13
|
17
|
|
Pedestrian Accidents
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
Fatalities
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
Hit and Run Accidents
|
35
|
37
|
20
|
21
|
19
|
17
|
|
Totals
|
229
|
168
|
152
|
149
|
159
|
138
|
The Police Department has received over $54,000 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 2010, a total of 2,529 traffic tickets were issued by Geneseo Police officers. This is a 7% decrease from last year. A chart is featured below.
A breakdown of some the traffic tickets shown in the graph above are as follows:
|
Charge
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
|
Driving While Intoxicated
|
78
|
78
|
53
|
40
|
31
|
|
Speeding
|
363
|
509
|
572
|
590
|
556
|
|
Equipment Violations
|
257
|
409
|
374
|
282
|
250
|
|
Fail to Obey a Traffic Device
|
280
|
236
|
224
|
295
|
396
|
|
Fail to Yield to Pedestrians
|
86
|
20
|
10
|
12
|
5
|
|
Driver’s License Violations
|
146
|
204
|
245
|
218
|
226
|
|
Stop Sign Violations
|
149
|
116
|
103
|
55
|
66
|
|
Passed School Bus Violations
|
1
|
7
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
|
Registration Violations
|
62
|
81
|
85
|
139
|
101
|
|
Insurance Violations
|
65
|
151
|
159
|
205
|
139
|
|
Seat Belt Violations
|
169
|
306
|
229
|
318
|
285
|
|
Inspection Violations
|
204
|
260
|
245
|
131
|
136
|
|
Cell Phone Violations
|
81
|
118
|
216
|
89
|
153
|
|
Total Traffic Tickets Issued
|
2,056
|
2,624
|
2,733
|
2,723
|
2,529
|
Parking Enforcement
Parking enforcement continues to be a major part of a police officer’s job in Geneseo. A total of 2,579 parking tickets were issued during 2010. This is a 24% increase from the 2,086 parking tickets issued in 2009.
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 2010, Mr. O’Keefe issued 1,182 metered violations tickets, which is an increase from 291 issued in 2009.
Uniform personnel issued 1,397 tickets during the course of their patrols. This is a decrease from the 1,795 tickets issued in 2009. 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 $60,308.70. This is a 2% increase from last year’s amount of $58,997.76.
Court Fines
Enforcement efforts by Geneseo Police officers amounted to approximately $341,354 in fines being collected by the Geneseo Village Justices for 2010. This is a decrease from last year’s amount of $368,939; however this does not include the monies from the Livingston County’s Traffic Diversion Program. The Geneseo Village Court is ranked 182 out of 1,257 Justice Courts in New York State in total revenue reported.
Of this total amount, approximately $141,732.25 was returned from the New York State Comptrollers Office to the Village in the form of revenue. The Village also received $23,100 in Traffic Diversion revenue from the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office; for a total amount of $164,832.25 being returned to the Village in the form of revenue. This is a slight increase from last year’s amount of $164,459.
The Village collected approximately $63,943 for Vehicle & Traffic fines; approximately $63,409.25 for Village Code fines; and approximately $14,380 for Penal Law fines.
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 2010, Geneseo Police officers were called upon to investigate 732 criminal incidents. The chart below represents some of the crime reported by the Geneseo Police Department to DCJS for the past five years:
|
Category
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
|
Murder/Manslaughter
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Robbery
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
Assault
|
9
|
10
|
13
|
14
|
9
|
|
Burglary/Trespass
|
37
|
36
|
38
|
24
|
35
|
|
Criminal Mischief
|
111
|
110
|
87
|
78
|
61
|
|
Larceny
|
216
|
100
|
99
|
109
|
94
|
|
Fraud Offenses
|
10
|
12
|
12
|
11
|
16
|
|
Vehicle Theft
|
5
|
5
|
3
|
4
|
1
|
|
Disorderly Conduct
|
41
|
28
|
57
|
40
|
49
|
|
Harassment
|
73
|
66
|
71
|
67
|
40
|
|
Drug Violations
|
43
|
45
|
32
|
27
|
27
|
|
Alcohol Violations
|
52
|
59
|
87
|
89
|
114
|
|
Sex Offenses
|
11
|
13
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
|
Family Offenses
|
11
|
18
|
30
|
34
|
22
|
|
DWI Offenses
|
78
|
78
|
53
|
40
|
31
|
|
Unattended Deaths
|
7
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
1
|
|
Total Cases Investigated
|
909
|
786
|
802
|
767
|
732
|
Criminal Arrests
During 2010, Geneseo Officers made 418 arrests, which resulted in 499 charges being filed with the Geneseo Village Court. This is a slight increase compared to last year.
The chart below highlights some of the charges listed in the graphs above.
|
Category
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
|
Robbery
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
Assault
|
6
|
8
|
7
|
8
|
5
|
|
Burglary
|
7
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
Sex Offenses (all types)
|
3
|
7
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
|
Trespass
|
16
|
10
|
7
|
7
|
6
|
|
Criminal Mischief
|
12
|
14
|
9
|
14
|
8
|
|
Disorderly Conduct
|
21
|
26
|
49
|
34
|
46
|
|
Drug Violations
|
34
|
34
|
22
|
26
|
23
|
|
Harassment (all types)
|
17
|
23
|
25
|
25
|
16
|
|
Larceny (all types)
|
38
|
32
|
28
|
30
|
26
|
|
Warrant Arrests
|
36
|
31
|
38
|
28
|
33
|
|
Open Container
|
29
|
32
|
47
|
30
|
52
|
|
Underage Drinking
|
25
|
34
|
31
|
45
|
45
|
|
Loud Noise Violations
|
19
|
30
|
22
|
19
|
11
|
Grants/Funding
The Geneseo Police Department was able to apply for several Federal, State and Local Grants, totaling $46,082.75 in 2010. Some of the funding will carry over into the year 2011. 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 $11,100. 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 (BUNY) grant in the amount of $6,660. 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 90%.
- A $338.25 reimbursement check from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for the purchase of two bullet proof vests.
- A grant in the amount of $735 from the US Department of Justice to purchase bullet proof vests.
- STOP DWI funding in the amount of $15,049.50 from Sheriff York. This money was used to purchase police radios; video equipment for the patrol cars; flashlights; and overtime wages for traffic enforcement.
- The Police Department was given equipment for winning the 2009 Law Enforcement Challenge Award, which included a fixed mount speed monitoring device. Equipment totaled $5,700.
- A State Legislative Grant in the amount of $3,300 from Senator Dale Volker. Funds were used to purchase new firearms for the police department.
The Police Department has been able to obtain a total of $437,377.82 in funding, since January of 2004. For a smaller police department, obtaining this amount of grant funding is remarkable.
Training
During 2010, 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 2010:
Continuing K9 training
Active Shooter/School Violence training
Case Agent Investigative Review training
PD Manager training
Firearm Qualification training
ImageScan training
Safe-Kids Child Passenger Safety training
Active Shooter Simunitions training
Article 35 training
Understanding/Interacting with people with disabilities training
Child Fatality & Serious Injury Abuse training
Leandra’s Law training
Patrol Interdiction training
Identification Procedures training
Conducted Energy Device training
S&W Armorer training
Advanced Firearms training
Breath-Test Operator recertification training
Simunition Instructor training
Workplace Violence training
E-Justice NCIC training
OSHA training/TB test
Federal Tool Box training
Legal Issues training
DCJS Enhanced Security E-Justice Portal training
Sex Offender Management training
IACP Accreditation training
E-Justice Use Role Assignment training
IACP Hiring Procedures training
Highway Traffic Safety Conference training
Drug Recognition expert training
Year in Review
Our general complaints increased again in 2010. We also saw the number of assaults, criminal mischief and larceny complaints decrease. I believe that this can be attributed to the proactive enforcement of the quality of life issues by Geneseo Police officers. Geneseo Police officers have made a habit of conducting foot patrols in the community, which has attributed to this decrease in vandalism and theft. This proactive enforcement becomes difficult as the Village grows with more businesses and attracts more people.
The Police Department has continued to be proactive with grant funding. Since 2004, we have been able to obtain over $437,000 in funding. This has given the Police Department the ability to increase its technological equipment and the service to the community. Obtaining this funding allows the police department to provide this no additional cost to the Village taxpayer.
The Police Department was involved in several traffic safety programs throughout 2010. Traffic safety has become a major part of a police officers job, due to the increasing number of vehicles and pedestrians that travel in and about 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 participates in numerous traffic safety and enforcement events in 2010, such as New York State’s Campaign Safe and Sober, Buckle-Up New York, Operation Safe Stop-Passed Stopped School Bus enforcement, Speed and Aggressive Driving Awareness, Saved by the Belt Program, Car-Fit Program, and Child Safety Seat Inspections. These efforts have helped keep the number of motor vehicle crashes to a minimum. The picture to the top right is of Officers Jeffrey Szczesniak and Daniel Piedmonte installing a child safety seat at the Geneseo Fire Hall during a child safety seat check event. The picture to the right is of officers performing a seatbelt checkpoint on Mt. Morris Road during the May Wave of the Buckle Up New York campaign.
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 numerous youths at the Geneseo Central School. We also offer a child safety seat program, in which we install and give out safety seats. During 2010, we also gave away free bicycle helmets to those youths that need them. Pictured to the right is of Officer Jeffrey Szczesniak at a Bicycle Rodeo at Highland Park.
On December 3, 2010, the Geneseo Police Department arrested Christopher Gravelle, age 24 from Brooklyn, NY for Criminal Possession of Marihuana in the Third Degree (E-Felony). Gravelle was stopped for a traffic violation. Having suspicion that there may be illegal drugs inside the vehicle, the Geneseo Police Department called upon its K9 narcotic dog. K9 Rosko searched the vehicle and determined that there were drugs inside. The officers searched the vehicle and found approximately a pound of marihuana and over $3,000 in cash hidden inside the vehicle. Gravelle was arraigned in front of Geneseo town Justice Gerald Smith, who was available at the time. Gravelle was remanded to the Livingston County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash / $10,000 bond. Officer Benjamin Swanson, Sergeant Dana Carson, Officer Jason Yasso and the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation.
On December 11, 2010, the Geneseo Police Department arrested Emerson Scheidt, age 26 from Groveland, NY for Burglary in the Second Degree and Forcible Touching on Ward Place. Allegedly, Scheidt unlawfully entered a residence on Ward Place, forcibly touched a female and then fled on foot. Officers responded to the residence, obtained statements from the occupants and began an investigation into the incident. While conducting the investigation the officers and occupants of the residence saw Scheidt in the area, just north of the residence of where the incident took place. The officers gave chase and apprehended Scheidt. Scheidt was arraigned in front of Judge Thomas Bushnell and remanded to the Livingston County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash / $100,000 bond.
The Geneseo Police Department received State & National awards in 2010
The Geneseo Police Department received an award at this year’s Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Conference, held on May 4 in Syracuse, NY. The Geneseo Police Department placed “First Place”. This is the fourth 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 keep the number of property damage and personal injury motor vehicle accidents to a minimum in the Village of Geneseo in 2009. Along with the awards, we also received a portable radar mounted speed sign from All Traffic Solutions. The item is worth approximately $5,700. At right is a picture taken at the conference, with DMV Commissioner David Swarts.
The Geneseo Police Department received Third 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 accepted the award at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police conference, where speakers Vice President Joseph Biden, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano spoke. The Police Department competed against other police departments from across the Country. This award nationally recognizes 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 keep motor vehicle accidents to a minimum in the Village of Geneseo in 2009. The Geneseo Police Department was the only New York State police agency to win an award. The Police Department accepted the award at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference on October 26, 2010