The Steuben County Sheriff's Office has its own designated Communications Division consisting of one full-time Dispatcher. The Communications Center dispatches for the Sheriff, Undersheriff, Criminal Investigators, Road Patrol, Navigation and Correction Division's transports. The Sheriff's Office Communication Center is operated during normal business hours, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4 pm, to answer the needs of the public. The Sheriff's Office Communications Center works closely with the Emergency Dispatchers at the Steuben County 911 Center and if emergency calls are received by the Sheriff's Office Communications Center they are immediately transferred to E-911 to dispatch under the Steuben County Closest Car Policy.
The Sheriff's Office Commination's Center also handles the daily routine dispatch calls or walk-in complaints required by the many Divisions within the Sheriff's Office. The Dispatcher assigned to the Communications Center also carries out various other tasks and functions as directed by the Sheriff to include:
- Arrest Warrant processing to include entry and removal into the New York State Justice System, entry of all Arrest Warrants into the Sheriff's Office Mobile Patrol App and the County Website, also the storage and the distribution of all Arrest, Bench, and Probation Warrants for the Road Patrol Deputies to execute.
- Overseeing and administering the Sheriff's Office Operation Safe Child Program which provides Child Identification Cards to the parents of children within Steuben County in the event a child is reported missing or abducted.
- Sheriff's Office Civil Identification Cards which is a service provided by the Sheriff's Office to the citizens of Steuben County in need of an Official Identification Card for a variety of reasons.
- Sheriff Office Daily Hot Sheet which is a (5) day a week Sheriff's Office publication to Law Enforcement Officials and Agencies ONLY containing the most up to date information on police-related activities, events, and operations.
- Arson Background Checks for all Steuben County Fire Departments to ensure potential members of those Fire Departments meet with New York State guidelines for membership to a Fire Department.
- The Sheriff's Office Communications Center is responsible to begin the background investigation on all New York State Pistol Permit Applications that are issued by the Steuben County Courts through the Steuben County Clerk's Office. Once the background investigation is initiated, it then is processed in the Communications Center and is then assigned to various Divisions within the Sheriff's Office for processing and approval or denial. The Pistol Permit Packet is then finalized in the Communication Center for processing back to the Steuben County Clerk's Office.
- Firearms Amnesty Checks for members of the public who are seeking to get previously unregistered firearms placed on their New York State Pistol Permit issued by the Steuben County Clerk's Office.
- Processing and assignment of all Subpoenas and or court-related documents issued by the Steuben County District Attorney's Office for service in connection to Grand Jury Presentations, Trials, or any other function of the prosecution handled by the Steuben County Sheriff's Office.
- Entry of all Civil Process and Order of Protections issued within Steuben County into the Sheriff's Office Records Management System for assignment to the Deputy Sheriff's on the Road Patrol for service and execution of same.
- Entry and maintenance of every Order of Protection served and issued through Steuben County Family Court or any other Order of Protection that is served and processed by the Sheriff's Office through Criminal Investigations or other venues.
- Entry of all New York State registered Sex Offenders under the supervision of the Sheriff's Office into the Sheriff's Office database during the Annual Registration of all Sex Offenders in January of each year and the quarterly registration of all Level 3 Sex Offenders.
- Posting of all Sheriff's Office Press Releases on the Sheriff's Office Facebook and Twitter accounts and the assigned Dispatcher acts as a media liaison for the Sheriff's Office in regards to such activities as WETM's Most Wanted, Child Restraint Events, etc.
- Any other duty or assignment as designated by the Sheriff or his designee has to do with the official operations and functions within the Sheriff's Office.
It also houses computer terminals for the NYS Department of Homeland Security Counter-Terrorism Network and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also known as the "Amber Alert". The Communications Center as serves as a backup center for Steuben Fire Control and Steuben Law Enforcement Agencies.
Social Media for the Steuben County Sheriff's Office
The advent of social media sites has created an environment of greater connection among people, businesses, and organizations, serving as a useful tool to keep in touch and interact with one another. These sites enable increased information sharing at a more rapid pace, building and enhancing relationships and helping friends, coworkers, and families to stay connected. The Steuben County Sheriff's Office is also using social media sites as a tool to interact with the public, such as posting information on crime trends, updating citizens on community events, or providing tips on keeping citizens safe. The Steuben County Sheriff's Office also uses Social Media to update the public on law enforcement activities conducted by this Office with the publication of Press Releases on our Social Media pages. This practice helps eliminate the confusion sometimes caused when the media reports the content of the Press Releases by displaying to the public the actual content directly from the Steuben County Sheriff's Office.
The Steuben County Sheriff's Office also uses Social Media platforms to publicize wanted suspects and develop public tips about the whereabouts of these suspects. This practice utilizes the vast ability of the internet to reach out to the citizens of Steuben County as well as other areas to bring suspects to justice thus assisting in keeping our residents safe.
The Steuben County Sheriff's Office Utilizes Facebook, Twitter & Our Mobile Patrol App for Smartphones.
We can be found at:Steuben County Sheriff's Office Facebook Page and Steuben County Sheriff's Office Twitter Page.
Download the Mobile Patrol app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
