In modern times the Office of Sheriff in most of New York State has undergone significant changes, adding to the largely custodial and civil functions the responsibility for public safety as well. The Office of Sheriff in Ontario County is a professional organization as evidenced by the complexity of duties, the extensive training administered, and the expectations of the community. It is essential that its members understand the basic principles of its goals, objectives and organizational structure.
Goals and Objectives
The development of and adherence to goals and objectives for the Ontario County Sheriff's Office is essential to insure the agency's direction and unity of purpose.It shall be the objective of the OCSO to provide the services, generally described, within the organizational framework detailed below.
OCSO's goals are:
- To execute both civil and criminal process as directed by any court of competent jurisdiction, and to serve said courts in the administration of justice as required;
- To maintain an accurate system of records in accordance with the law;
- To provide a modern and secure detention facility to the standards of the Commission of Corrections and with consideration for the health and safety of both inmates and employees;
- To accommodate community needs with prompt response by road patrol and/or investigative personnel;
- To provide a 24-hour emergency dispatching facility insuring communications coverage in response to requests for fire, police medical or other emergency services;
- To manage county and agency resources as efficiently as possible;
- To insure continual attention to the need for training all personnel and to make such training available whenever possible; and,
- To serve and protect the public, through education or other contact, in order to make Ontario County a safe place in which to reside, work or travel.
Organizational Structure - The Sheriff, as chief executive officer, is responsible for the overall management and control of the OCSO. Assisting, and empowered to act in the Sheriff's absence, is the Sheriff's appointee, the Undersheriff. The next ranking member of what is referred to as the "administration", is the Chief Deputy, who occupies a competitive civil service position and is authorized to act in the absence of both the Sheriff and the Undersheriff. The OCSO provides round-the-clock service; therefore, shall at all times be under the direction of the highest ranking officer on duty.
Code of Ethics - Sworn officers, as well as auxiliaries, are expected to abide by the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics as provided by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In addition, all employees are bound by the provisions of the code of ethics as required by Section 806 of the New York State General Municipal Law.
Administrative Bureau
- Fiscal Management - Two finance clerks under the direction of the Fiscal Manager.
- Civil Division- Two Civil Deputies assigned to executing civil papers, and two account clerk/typists are under the direction of the Civil Deputy/Sergeant.
- Communications Division - Four Senior Communications Officers, twenty-one Communications Officers, three part time Communications Officers, one full-time and one part-time Clerk, under the direction of the Chief Communications Officer.
- Records Division - One Senior Clerk, one Account Clerk/Typist and one typist, part time Typist.
Law Enforcement Bureau
The Law Enforcement Bureau is overseen by the Chief Deputy. Responsibilities for law enforcement and related functions are divided between the Road Patrol Division and the Criminal Investigation Division.
Road Patrol Division - Because services provided by the road patrol are scheduled on a 24 hour basis, overall supervision of these functions is shared by two Lieutenants, who also oversee the activities of the special sections mentioned below:
Road Patrol - Seven Sergeants who directly supervise their particular rotating shifts on which forty-eight sworn officers plus twenty-three part time officers serve- School Resource Officers -Two sworn officers assigned to two different school districts.
K-9 Unit - Four sworn officers and their K-9 partners. One for tracking, and three "Patrol K-9's". Patrol K-9's are used for tracking, crowd control and officer safety. In addition to these responsibilities, two of the Patrol K-9's are used for drug interdiction and the other for explosives detection- Crime Scene Unit - One Sergeant , one part-time officer and one part-time photographer/clerk. They are assisted by specially trained Road Patrol Deputies who all share an on-call rotation with the Sergeant.
Criminal Investigation Division (CID) - CID is headed by a Lieutenant who directly supervises the activities of 11 full time and 4 part time investigators supported with 2 stenographers. This group is responsible for six investigative sections, as follows:
- Criminal Investigation Section – Investigators assigned felony grade cases that do not fall into one of the specialized areas noted below. Typically 6 Investigators are assigned to this group. This group is supported by one stenographer.
- Special Investigations Unit – Investigators assigned primarily to narcotics investigations. Typically 3 Investigators are assigned to this group.
- Juvenile Aid Section – Investigator assigned to cases involving juveniles (person under the age of 16). Typically one investigator is assigned to this group along with one stenographer.
- Department of Social Services Investigation Section – Investigators assigned to investigate welfare fraud cases. Typically 1 full time and 2 two part time investigators are assigned to this group.
- Cyber Crime Unit - One investigator performs Cyber Crime duties in addition to his regular duties. This unit is being supplemented with one Road Patrol Deputy who will also work in addition to his regular duties.
- Background Investigations Unit – 2 part time investigators who conduct background investigations on persons applying for employment with Ontario County.
Corrections Bureau
The responsibility of the Corrections Bureau is to operate a safe and secure detention facility in conformance with the New York State Corrections Law and with regulations promulgated by the New York State Commission of Corrections. All functions relating to the Ontario County Jail are under the direct supervision of the Chief Corrections Officer.
These functions include:
- Administration - One Chief Corrections 0fficer and two corrections Lieutenants.
- Jail Division - Nine corrections Sergeants, eighty-four corrections officers, and ten part-time corrections officers.
- Court Security Division - Nine full-time corrections officers and two part-time corrections officers under the direction of a corrections Sergeant who is designated as court security supervisor.
- Medical Division - One part-time jail physician, one Nurse Practitioner, one Nurse Supervisor, six registered nurses and one office specialist.
- Food & Laundry Service Division - Four jail cooks under the direction of a Jail Cook/Manager.
Specialized Assignments
Drawing personnel on an "as needed" basis from both the Corrections and Law Enforcement Bureaus, are other components identified as "special details" or, in some cases "teams" or "Units". Personnel participating in these activities do so having volunteered and been selected to receive training in specialized procedures and equipment. In some cases these Units may be staffed or augmented by part-time personnel.
Examples of these support services are:
- Marine and Recreation Vehcile Division
- Snowmobile Patrol
- Emergency Response Team
- Underwater Search & Recovery Team
- Hostage Recovery
- Child Passenger Safety Program
Command structure - In order to insure clear understanding, efficiency and accountability, each member shall be aware of one's position in the chain of command. The command structure is based on the principle that each member has a specific supervisor to whom that member is responsible; each supervisor reports to a specific commander; and so on to the top of the chain, the Sheriff of Ontario County. A member must also be aware that under certain circumstances, particularly when availability is a factor, that one may receive and must carry out an order given by a supervisor who is outside one's normal chain of command. In this case, the latter is accountable for the action, and the member's responsibility to the regularly assigned supervisor is in no way lessened.
Individual authority - Individual members and employees are encouraged to exercise their authority to make decisions necessary for the effective execution of their responsibilities. Members should take full advantage of the training and experience resources available to them to become more proficient in their duties. No one is perfect and despite the best effort, mistakes are bound to occur; but, as Santayana wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Delegating authority - The effective manager soon discovers that one can cope with increasing responsibilities only by delegating portions of one's authority to those supervised. While this is encouraged, it shall be clearly understood that the delegation of authority does not provide an escape from responsibility. Each employee is fully accountable for the use of delegated authority, as well as for the failure to use it appropriately.
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