Erie County Sheriff's Office (New York)


The Erie County Sheriff's Office is Erie County's oldest law enforcement agency.
The Office of the Sheriff is the oldest office under the system of common law in the United States and is an integral part of government in the State of New York.
As the oldest constitutional law enforcement officer of the county, the Sheriff is charged with maintaining the peace in all municipalities, villages, and towns within his jurisdiction and the care and custody of persons pending court action. The Sheriff also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts.
The powers and the duties of the Sheriff are embodied in the constitution of each state and, as such, the Sheriff of Erie County heads the largest Sheriff's Office in New York State and the fourteenth largest in the nation.

History

On February 4, 1821, John G. Camp was appointed as the first Sheriff of the district, which at that time encompassed both Erie and Niagara County. After the district of Erie County was established, Camp remained in office as the Sheriff of Erie County until December 31, 1822.
United States President Grover Cleveland began his political career as Sheriff of Erie County in 1871. He went on to become Mayor of the City of Buffalo, Governor of the State of New York and President.
The Erie County Sheriff is, as most of more than 3,000 sheriffs in the United States, an elected official. He is elected to a term of office for four years, must devote full-time to his duties, and may not hold any other public office.
The men and women, within the various divisions of the sheriff's Office, provide a wide range of services to the County's residents. In addition to of land area, Erie County has of shoreline, the waters of which also come under the jurisdiction of the Office.
The Erie County Sheriff's Office owes its successful development to the fifty-three sheriffs, and all the public servants, both past and present, who dedicated themselves to the service and the protection of the citizens of Erie County.
Sheriffs of Erie County:
The Administrative Services Division provides support services for all Divisions of the Erie County Sheriff's Office. The duties of the administrative services division include Payroll, Personnel, Pre- Employment, Absentee Control, Reception, Budget, Purchasing, Accounts Receivable/Payable, Grant Management, Fleet Administration and FOIL. Administrative Services furnishes all benefits to the more than 1000 employees of the Sheriff's Office. The Erie County Sheriff's Office is an equal opportunity employer. It is the responsibility of the Administrative Services Division to ensure that all regulations are enforced. The Administrative Services Division is headed by Chief John Greenan.

Police Services Division

The Police Services Division encompasses several facets of the Office of Sheriff, including the most readily recognizable to the citizens of Erie County; that is, the uniformed law enforcement officers in their distinctive red and white patrol vehicles. Nearly 70,829 calls were placed in 2009 for assistance, including accidents, criminal mischief, burglaries, property damage, etc. The Police Services Division is charged with law enforcement duties, traffic enforcement, crime prevention and service to the citizens of Erie County. To facilitate these actions, the Police Services Division is headquartered in Chestnut Ridge Park at 1 Sheriff's Dr., Orchard Park, New York 14127. The Sheriff's Office maintains substations in the towns of Grand Island, Clarence, Elma, Colden, and Collins, along with the Villages of Springville and North Collins.
This deployment of personnel ensures rapid response to the needs and concerns of the citizens of Erie County, which encompasses 1,227 square miles. In addition to the familiar red and white patrols of the county, many unique services are provided, some of which are outlined below.
These units include the:
The Police Services Division is headed by Chief Scott Joslyn.

Civil Enforcement Division

The Erie County Sheriff's Civil Division was the first Civil Division certified as "Professionally Accredited" in New York State. The Civil Enforcement Division is a state mandated service provided by all Sheriff's Offices throughout New York State.
Its purpose and function is to serve and execute the various legal processes issued by and for the several non-criminal courts of New York State and for jurisdictions of other states and countries throughout the world.
The Civil Division is the enforcement vehicle for all courts, including small claims, city, county, state and federal jurisdictions.
The Civil Enforcement Division is headed by Chief John A. Anthony.

Jail Management Division

The Erie County Holding Center, located at 40 Delaware Avenue in Downtown Buffalo, New York, is a pretrial, maximum security detention facility. It is the second largest detention facility in New York State, outside of New York City. The Erie County Holding Center has a capacity of housing 638 inmates remanded to the custody of the Sheriff of Erie County. It processes more than 20,000 inmates annually. The facility is a combination of pods and traditional linear type cells. Overflow inmates are housed at the Holding Center Annex which is adjacent to the Erie County Correctional Facility.
The Erie County Correctional Facility is a medium security detention facility located at 11581 Walden Avenue in Alden, New York. Presently the facility can hold approximately 794 inmates of various classifications. The facility is a combination of pods and open bay dorm housing.
This is the only facility where both ECSO Jail Deputies and Correction Officers work side by side. The Erie County Correctional Facility at one time was run by the Erie County Department of Corrections under the direct supervision of the County Executive. However during the term of Sheriff Gallivan control of the Erie County Correctional Facility fell under the auspices of the Erie County Sheriff's Office and the Erie County Department of Corrections was dissolved. Jail Deputies and Correction Officers receive the same training and attend the same 13 week Academy. Jail Deputies carry the title "Deputy" and are issued gold badges while "CO's" are issued silver badges.
The inmate populations housed at the Erie County Holding Center and Erie County Correctional Facility include: non arraigned, non-sentenced, sentenced, and federal inmates. Males, females and adolescents are housed at both adult facilities.
The county system combines statistics regarding average length of stay at the jails: un-sentenced inmates have a LOS of 3 days, while sentenced inmates have a LOS of 40 days.
The Sheriff's Office provides medical and dental services to both the ECHC and ECCF.
The Erie County Department of Mental Health Services, through the Adult Forensic Mental Health Clinic is responsible for the behavioral mental health services for both adult facilities. Additionally, inmates can be admitted to the Erie County Medical Center's secure Psychiatric Service Unit, guarded by in hospital sheriff's deputies.
Sheriff Tim Howard has come under intense scrutiny for numerous suicides, mistaken releases and overall incompetence and mismanagement of the Holding Center. http://www.scoc.ny.gov/press-release-20100519-escape.htm
The Jail Management Division is headed by Superintendent Thomas Diina.

Professional Standards Division

The Professional Standards Division is an avenue through which citizens can both protect their rights and voice complaints of possible misconduct of employees.
Complaints received from citizens are treated in a positive manner. They are investigated, validated and disciplinary action, if any is determined.

Reserve Division

Includes:
The Special Services Division of the Erie County's Sheriff's Office consists of two branches, each providing specially trained and equipped personnel to respond throughout Erie County, to assist Deputies, other law enforcement officers, and agencies in several situations. This Division is also responsible for the comprehensive investigation of all criminal matters reported to the Sheriff's Police Services Division. Investigators work closely with town, state and federal law enforcement agencies and have special abilities and expertise, which are available to all municipalities within Erie County. The first branch is the Investigative Services Branch which includes the Computer Crimes Unit, Crime Scene Unit, Detective Bureau, Fire Investigation Unit and Narcotics Unit. The other is the Operational Services Branch which includes the Aviation Unit, Bomb Squad, Crisis Negotiation Unit, Marine Unit, Snowmobile/ATV Unit, SWAT Team, Underwater Recovery Team, and the Weapons and Ordnance Unit.
The Special Services Division is headed by Chief Scott R. Patronik.

Accreditation

In 1986, the Sheriff's Office was accredited by the New York State Sheriff's Association and, in 1990, became one of the first police agencies in Western New York to be certified by the State of New York as an Accredited Law Enforcement Agency. During current Sheriff Tim Howards term the Sheriffs Office became unaccredited, the only agency in New York that has done so. The Jail Management Division became accredited in 2017 by the New York State Sheriff's Association.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Erie County Sheriff Office, 4 officers have died in the line of duty.
OfficerDate of DeathDetails
Thursday, November 4, 1948
Assault
Saturday, November 5, 1977
Gunfire
Thursday, August 13, 1987
Gunfire
Friday, October 20, 1989
Gunfire

Stingray phone tracker

Press reports have indicated that the sheriff's office operates at least one Stingray phone tracker. Most often it has used the device without court approval.