Our Mission:
It is the mission of the Steuben County Sheriff's Office to provide professional and quality police services to the County of Steuben. The Sheriff's Office is a diverse organization providing service in Law Enforcement, Correction, Civil, Court Security, and Navigation Safety. Each Division's quest for excellence makes this mission successful.

Administration
Steuben County Sheriff’s Office Commissioned Officers supervise the overall functions of the Nine Divisions in the department.  The Commissioned Officers are: Sheriff Richard C. Tweddell, Undersheriff David V. Cole, Major Joel R. Ordway, Major Christopher J. Lian, Captain Keith L. Barrett, Lieutenant Chris Hand.

(CIRT)Critical Incident Response Team
Sheriff Richard C. Tweddell recently authorized the new CIRT Command Post vehicle be placed In Service for use by the Department for responses to various incidents throughout the County.  Sheriff Tweddell has also been working for the past  year with the schools in Steuben County on a  response strategy by the Sheriff’s Office to incidents. The CIRT vehicle and Deputies who have been trained on critical incident responses will play a key role in this response strategy plan.

CIU
The Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU) of the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office is highly active in all criminal aspects of law enforcement.  The CIU conducts investigations into all types of offenses ranging from Grand Larceny/Burglary to Homicide and Sex Crimes.  The CIU Division is also highly active in the area of Narcotics Investigations.
A Narcotics Investigation Team consisting of members of the Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, and local Police agencies work as a unit on these sensitive investigations.  The results have been successful, resulting in hundreds of felony arrests for narcotic possession and sales.
The CIU also has trained an Investigator in all aspects of Accident Reconstruction. The cooperation of all agencies working as one unit has proven to be more effective in solving crimes and arresting criminals in Steuben County.  If the CIU can assist any agency, please contact us. 607-776-3347 or 800-724-7777  FAX 776-5564 

Civil  Division
All summonses, subpoenas, request for levies, income, property executions and warrants of eviction are routed through the civil office where they are processed, recorded and assigned to members of the Road Patrol for Service.  The Office handles more than one million dollars a year in funds collected, which are distributed to individuals or attorneys representing clients.  Fees collected for providing these services generate revenue for the county.  The office also receives  and disburses bails and fines handles Orders of Protections from Family Court and arranges for the sale of seized property. 

The Civil Office is located in the Public Safety Building, 7007 Rumsey Street Ext.

Mailing address:
Steuben County Sheriff’s Office, 7007 Rumsey St. Ext., Bath, New York 14810

Business Hours:  Monday Through Friday: 8:30 am until 4:30 pm.

Phone:  800-724-7777   Fax 607-776-5987

Supreme, County, Family and Surrogate Court proceedings are presided over by three county judges within the complex, which also contains the chambers of Appellate Division Justice Henry J. Scudder. The County Judges are Peter C. Bradstreet, Marianne Furfure and Joseph W. Latham.

Metal detectors and X-ray machines are operated by Division members at four locations within the Bath complex. This equipment was provided by the state Unified Court System and Office of Court Administration. All purses, bags, packages and mail coming into the facility are scanned. Additionally, metal detectors are in operation at the city courts.

To provide these protective services the Division staff includes a contingent of both full-time and part-time deputies and court officers, headed by Officer-In-Charge Charles Hughes and Sgt. Daniel Brown.  A full-time deputy sheriff and part-time court officer are assigned to each of the city courts.

In all, the metal detector/X-ray stations intercept an average of 5,000 items per year that are not allowed in the buildings, such as knives, razors and box cutters, scissors and other sharp instruments, pepper sprays and a variety of tools and other items that could be used as dangerous instruments.  Division members have made arrests for unlawful possession of marijuana at the screening stations and for possession of switchblade knives.  Also, deputies have made arrests for Penal Law violations that have occurred in the buildings.

A deputy sheriff is assigned solely to provide security for the public and several hundred employees who work in the County Office Building, particularly in the Department of Social Services.  Several security measures have been installed to assist in providing a secure work environment for those employees and the public they serve.

With extensive use of these facilities, more than 225,000 persons a year pass through the detectors. To better serve the public, Division members have been trained in the use of cardiac-related Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).  Three of the life-saving devices are available at the Bath complex and there is an AED at the courts in city halls in Corning and Hornell.

Dispatch
The Sheriff’s Office Communications Division consists of two full-time and two part-time dispatchers. The center dispatches for jail units and Road Patrol along with 911.  Hours of operation are: Daily 7 am - 5 pm  All complaints are dispatched through Steuben County E-911.

It also houses computer terminals for the NYS Department of Homeland Security Counter-Terrorism Network and The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children also known as the “Amber Alert”. The center serves as a backup center for Steuben Fire Control and Steuben Law Enforcement

Employment
The Steuben County Jail is looking for applicant's to fill the position of Part-Time Correction Officer. Upon hiring, the applicant would complete eighty hours of on the job training and then would be assigned shift duty. Correction Officers are responsible for the enforcement of rules and regulations governing the safety and security of inmates and the Steuben County Jail.

Work is performed under supervision of a corrections Sergeant with leeway allowed for independent judgment in dealing with day to day situations. Applicants may obtain employment applications from the Steuben County Personnel office or at the Public Safety Building.

Jail

Quad 1:  This unit is for juvenile inmates and inmates assigned to work programs.  These programs include kitchen workers, laundry workers and maintenance helpers.

Quad 2:  This unit is set aside for general population inmates.

Quad 3:  This area is for female inmates only with a capacity of 20. 

Quad 4:  The dormitory is a housing unit designed for maximum use of limited space.  This unit can hold up to 48 minimum and medium security male inmates.

Quad 5:  This Special Housing Unit is designed for inmates with disciplinary problems, new unclassified inmates, inmates with medical concerns and inmates who may harm themselves. 

Direct supervision is a combination of implementing an innovative management and operational philosophy, facility design and staff training. 

In each of these housing units, a Corrections Officer supervises the inmates by working in the inmate living area and is not isolated from inmates by bars, secure workstations or control booths. 

Research has shown that Officers in the unit are able to better know the inmates and can anticipate problems before they escalate into violence.  Correction Officers become proactive, rather than reactive or defensive.  Staff members become more dependent upon negotiation, communication and conflict management skills rather than physical strength.   

PERSONNEL

The Steuben County Jail is made up of full time, part time, and civilian employees and volunteers.  The staff consists of:

CORRECTION OFFICERS

Correction Officers have the responsibility for maintaining the safety and security of the Jail building, staff and inmates.  Correction Officers perform tasks that include:

· Security tours to insure accountability and inmate safety.
· Supervise inmate exercise
· Supervise inmate law library
· Supervise inmate educational programs
· Supervise inmates in work programs
· Assist staff medical personnel
· Supervise the distribution of  meals for the inmates
· Transport inmates to courts and outside medical services. 

TRAINING

Correction Officers must complete 160 hours of New York State Commission of Correction training.  Topics include legal issues, interpersonal communications, CPR/First Aid, fire prevention and suicide prevention. 

Correction Officers are also mandated to successfully complete a two week Peace Officer's school that includes weapons training.  Other training offered to Correction Officers includes Classification and OC (chemical agent) training.

Navigation
The Navigation Division is comprised of four seasonal Deputies who man two 22 foot vessels and numerous volunteers in the shallow water scuba team.  This Division is also equipped with a fourteen foot aluminum boat with outboard motor and a Navigation Dive Trailer that is fully equipped to respond to any water emergency.

The Sheriff's Office Dive Team consists of Special Deputies trained in underwater search and rescue as well as ice rescue. Deputies mainly patrol Keuka Lake which is one of New York's famous Finger Lakes.  They also patrol the numerous other smaller bodies of water and rivers in the County. 

Deputies are responsible for enforcing Navigation Laws, inspecting vessels, and conducting Young Boater Safety Courses in addition to investigating cottage burglaries and thefts.

Road Patrol
The Road Patrol Division of the Sheriff's Office is the most visible of all the divisions. We provide 24 hour coverage seven days a week with nineteen Road Patrol Deputies. Steuben County is vast covering 1408 square miles - over 300 square miles larger than the State of Rhode Island.  Steuben County is broken down into four zones with two substations to compliment our main base at Bath, New York.

In addition to handling emergency and non-emergency complaints, deputies handle thousands of calls of public service including property checks of cottages, seasonal camps and businesses.  They also investigate crimes and assist the Criminal Investigations Unit with investigations, conduct pistol permit application investigations and serve warrants and civil process papers.

In addition to their regular duties, some deputies are assigned technical duties such as Fleet Managers, Field Training Coordinators, DWI Coordinators, Traffic Safety Coordinators, Firearms and General Topic Instructors, Child Safety Seat Technicians, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, and Automated Defibrillator trained.  One Deputy is assigned as a Narcotics K-9 Handler.

Deputies also conduct child safety seat educational details and bicycle rodeos where the proper instruction of wearing bicycle helmets is instilled.  (Child safety seats and bike helmets are given periodically at a pre-arranged session in conjunction with the County Public Health Nursing.)

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updated December 26, 2007