Skip to main content

Nearly three weeks later, results of neighborhood police activity announced

By Howard B. Owens

City announcement:

On June 26th the City of Batavia Police Department joined by the Genesee County Drug Task Force, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Genesee County Probation and New York State Police participated in a series of neighborhood enforcement details. The purpose of these details was to systematically approach known problem areas within the City and target criminal activity.

The benefits of participating in the joint operation are to provide continual support amongst the agencies, increase familiarity with working with each other, thereby enhancing the ability to curb criminal actvity.

Sixteen law enforcement personnel from four different agencies were partnered in a focused enforcement detail of eight separate locations in the central and south sides of the City. Due to ongoing investigations the exact locations are not being disclosed at this time. This approach to neighborhood sweeps/enforcement was identified in the City’s Strategic Plan with the goal of providing additional resources to focus on quality-of-life concerns for City residents. The following are preliminary results of this year’s first detail:

  • 59 data runs
  • 19 traffic stops
  • 16 probation visits
  • 5 traffic citations issued
  • 3 drug-related arrests, including marijuana and crack cocaine
  • 1 parole violation
  • 1 probation violation
  • 1 drug court violation
  • 1 disturbance call, 2 suspicious activity calls and 1 foot pursuit

Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said “The City of Batavia Police Department is grateful for the assistance provided by the other participating agencies during this special detail. The residents of this City should know that every resource is being utilized to its fullest extent to weed out criminal activity within their neighborhoods. No one should have to feel oppressed in their own home or on their own street; therefore the Police Department is committed to using whatever resources are necessary to curb illegal activity.”

Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha added “This is a fine example of corporation between the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, City of Batavia Police and other law enforcement agencies to improve the quality of life within our community.  We must continue to pool our law enforcement resources to meet citizen expectations and to benefit the taxpayer."

Major Michael J. Cerretto, Troop A commander, New York State Police, continued by stating "In these days of fiscal restraint, it is very important that police agencies work together. The success of this community-policing initiative in the City of Batavia shows how important this cooperation is to the citizens of Genesee County. The relationship between the Batavia PD, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and the State Police has never been better."

Neighborhood Sweeps/Enforcement Details were outlined in the City’s Strategic Plan as part of the City’s Neighborhood Revitalization efforts. They include dedicated patrols for targeted enforcement with the goal of intercepting and interrupting the flow of illegal drugs, weapons and other contraband as well as locating and arresting wanted persons. All agencies involved expect to continue joint law enforcement efforts in the future. These details are not advertised prior to taking place and locations are selected based on criminal data, the presence of nuisance and illegal behavior and ongoing investigations.

If you see criminal activity or know about a crime that has occurred please contact the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350 or the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370.

Lincoln DeCoursey

Mark - It's when the police come into contact with a person during a call for service, traffic stop, jump out, or other interaction and they run the person's ID through their databases to confirm license validity, check for outstanding arrest warrants, review criminal history, check parole/probation status, etc.

Jul 10, 2014, 12:35am Permalink
Peter O'Brien

19 traffic stops resulted in 5 traffic violations
16 probation visits, one violation

Starting to sound like a police state.

"They include dedicated patrols for targeted enforcement with the goal of intercepting and interrupting the flow of illegal drugs, weapons and other contraband as well as locating and arresting wanted persons."

You had only 3 drug arrests out of that list. Congrats you solved all the problems.

How many people had to take time out of their day to be bothered by the cops?

Jul 10, 2014, 10:06am Permalink
Ed Hartgrove

Mark: The answer to your question can be found in the (press release). It clearly states, "Due to ongoing investigations the exact locations are not being disclosed at this time.".

Jul 10, 2014, 12:14pm Permalink
Frank Bartholomew

Peter, I was stopped on Ellicott St. by a State Trooper who tailgated me for at least
a half mile, and drove in the bike lane trying to see inside my vehicle. Why are the police allowed to break the law?
When he finally decided to pull me over, he approached the passenger side of my vehicle, and claimed he couldn't tell if my passenger was seatbelted, which he was.
He then started asking where we were going, the age of my passenger, and finally
asked for my lic. and reg..
In my opinion, he has no right to break the law trying to see if someone else is breaking a traffic law, he has no right to ask questions, and quite honestly, no right to pull me over in the first place.
Yeah Peter, we got ourselves one hellava police state.When a citizen can be
harassed for absolutely no good reason, and then interogated, its time for the people to question the power of law enforcement.
It's a good thing my papers were in order.

Jul 10, 2014, 3:47pm Permalink
Dave Olsen

That's good question Frank, and I don't believe they are, but good luck with a citizen's arrest. I'm a bit concerned about the 59 violations of privacy that didn't result in much citations or arrests. That is very big brother-ish to me. And why wait 3 weeks to release this?

Jul 10, 2014, 4:00pm Permalink
Frank Bartholomew

Dave, I fear that the sheeple don't care what the police do, or how many rights
are trampled, they just want that fuzzy warm safe feeling.
I'm all for making the city a better place, but we are no better if the police are using
gestapo like tactics.

Jul 10, 2014, 4:41pm Permalink
Mark Potwora

Why don't we have the right to know where these traffic stops took place..Stopping 19 people and only writing 5 tickets seems a little weak .What on going investigations could be going on over a couple of traffic stops..

Jul 10, 2014, 6:48pm Permalink
Frank Bartholomew

Mark, the trooper started following me at Jackson and Ellicott, and finally pulled me over across from the cemetary. It didn't seem like he was behind me that long, but my passengers stated he was.
We were in a hurry, trying to tie up loose ends for a family wedding the following day.
I was surprisingly polite to the officer, despite his questions, and lack of any apology for his mistake.
The drug and weapon smugglers probably drove by and laughed because the trooper was occupied.lol..
This is a perfect example as to why people begin to disrespect law enforcement.
What little I had is gone.Instead of "to serve and protect", the motto of today is more
like "to harass and provoke"

Jul 11, 2014, 10:27am Permalink

Authentically Local