Nearly three weeks later, results of neighborhood police activity announced

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.