GENESEO POLICE DEPARTMENT

119 MAIN STREET, GENESEO, NEW YORK 14454

TEL 585-243-2420 / FAX 585-243-2443
WWW.GENESEOPOLICE.ORG

February 13, 2018

Mayor Hatheway & the Geneseo Village Board

119 Main Street
Geneseo, New York 14454
Re: Annual Report for 2017

Dear Mayor Hatheway & the Geneseo Village Board:

Attached hereto please find the Geneseo Police Department annual report for 2017.
Once you have read the report, it is hoped that the Village Board Members will have gained
a more thorough understanding of the Village Police Department.

Sincerely,

Eric Osganian
Chief of Police
 Department Staff

For 2017, the police department was comprised of a police chief, a sergeant, five
patrol officers, and a school resource officer. In addition, the department employed five
part-time sworn police officers and a part-time investigator. The department operated
without any clerical staff.
A part-time civilian meter attendant enforced the metered parking areas, as well as
the municipal lot and the permit parking area on University Drive. Dog control enforcement
responsibilities are handled by the police department, with assistance from Livingston
County Dog Control.
According to the 2015 Census estimate, the Village of Geneseo has approximately
8,173 people in residence. This calculates to a ratio of one full-time officer for every 1,167
residents.

During 2017, the staff of the police department included:

Chief of Police Eric Osganian

Sergeant Dana Carson

Full-Time Officers Daniel Piedmonte

Raymond Goulet
Benjamin Swanson
Christopher Matteson
Travis Lana
Dylan DiPasquale

Part-Time Officers Michael Donals

Jeffery Szczesniak
Ian Hall
Jason Yasso
Katelyn Sanders
Robert Fuller, Investigator

Part-Time Secretary Vacant

 Calls for Service

“Call for Service” is what the police department refers to as the service call or
complaint. Very broad, this work encompasses criminal complaints; disorderly person(s);
lost property of all kinds; assisting a stranded motorist; assisting the ambulance; traffic
control; assisting another agency; special events or parades; property checks and any other
instance where citizens might desire the services of the police department.
One of the more frequent occurrences is the ‘traffic complaint”. A traffic complaint
can consist of anything from a motorist violating a traffic law to possible road rage. These
types of complaints have increased due to the increase in our vehicular traffic in the Village.
Geneseo Police Officers responded to these complaints 690 times during 2017.
Seemingly a routine call, the call for service is often the most important call to the
police. It provides contact between the public and the Geneseo Police Department. This
contact continues to number in the thousands every year.
As you can see from the graph below, the Geneseo Police Department’s “Calls for
Service” have remained consistent over the past several years. These “Calls for Service”
totals for the past few years clearly show that Geneseo Police officers are busy every day.
Geneseo Police officers handled 8,216 service calls in 2017. This is an increase from last
year.

9,000
8,046 8,057 8,197 8,216
7,000
Number of
5,000
Calls
3,000

1,000
2014 2015 2016 2017
Year
 Accidents

During 2017, Geneseo Police officers filed 145 motor vehicle accident reports. This
is an increase from last year. The Village of Geneseo has several major highways that cross
its borders (Route 20A, Route 39, Route 942D, and Route 63). These highways contribute to
a substantial amount of vehicular traffic in the Village. The chart below shows the number
of accidents for the past four years.

Accidents
200

175
162
Number of
150 148 145
Accidents
125 129

100
2014 2015 2016 2017
Year

A breakdown of the accidents shown in the graph above is as follows:

Accidents 2014 2015 2016 2017

Property Damage 134 116 129 120
Personal Injury 9 11 9 5
Pedestrian Accidents 1 2 1 4
Fatalities 0 0 1 0
Hit and Run Accidents 18 19 22 16
Totals 162 148 129 145

The police department has received over $138,177 in grant funding for our Police
Traffic Services program from New York State since 2004. These funds are used for the
enforcement of aggressive driving violations, such as speeding and failure to obey a traffic
control device (stop sign, stop light, yield sign…). These violations have been a cause of our
motor vehicle crashes.
 Traffic Arrests

During 2017, a total of 2,746 traffic tickets were issued by Geneseo Police officers.
This is a 31% increase from last year. A chart is featured below outlining the number of
tickets written over the past four years.

Traffic Tickets
3000
2,714 2,746
2507
2000 2,083
Number of
Tickets
1000

0
2014 2015 2016 2017

Year

A breakdown of some of the traffic tickets shown in the graph above are as follows:

Charge 2014 2015 2016 2017

Driving While Intoxicated 23 47 30 41
Speeding 478 284 398 591
Equipment Violations 403 544 392 482
Fail to Obey a Traffic Device 631 483 445 425
Fail to Yield to Pedestrians 2 6 4 35
Driver’s License Violations 301 458 323 310
Stop Sign Violations 49 27 31 54
Passed School Bus Violations 10 5 7 10
Registration Violations 96 300 158 126
Insurance Violations 33 35 15 11
Seat Belt Violations 47 66 43 76
Inspection Violations 141 140 74 89
Cell Phone Violations 74 71 53 186
Total Traffic Tickets Issued 2,507 2,714 2,083 2,746
 Parking Enforcement
Parking enforcement continues to be a major part of a police officer’s job in
Geneseo. A total of 6,675 parking tickets were issued during 2017. This is an increase from
the 5,588 parking tickets issued in 2016.
Part-time employee Jay Lynch handled the responsibility for the issuing parking
tickets in the metered areas of the business district of the Village, as well as permit only
parking in the municipal lot and University Drive. During 2017, Jay issued 5,141 parking
tickets, which is an increase from the 3,869 tickets issued the year before.
Uniform personnel issued 1,565 tickets during the course of their patrols. This is a
slight increase from the 1,508 tickets issued in 2016. These tickets range from a $10.00 fine
to an $80.00 fine.
The total amounts collected from the meters and parking fines amounted to
$94,016.11. This is an $8,239.16 increase from last year’s amount of $85,776.95.

Court Fines
Enforcement efforts by Geneseo Police officers amounted to approximately $385,846
fines being collected by the Geneseo Village Justices for 2017. This is an increase from last
year’s amount of $336,242.50. According to the Justice Court Fund of the Office of the
State Comptroller, the Geneseo Village Court is ranked 2nd in Livingston County Courts in
total revenue reported. Of the $385,846 collected: $175,672.50 went to New York State;
$16,335 went to Livingston County; and $193,838.50 was returned to the Village.
The Village also received $46,000 in traffic diversion revenue from the Livingston
County District Attorney’s Office; for a total amount of approximately $239,838.50 being
returned to the Village in the form of revenue. This is an increase from last year’s amount of
$206,337.25.
 Criminal Investigations

Under the provisions of Section 837 of the New York State Executive Law, the
Division of Criminal Services (DCJS) is the agency which is authorized to direct and
operate the Uniform Crime Report program for the Federal Government. All New York
State Village, Town, City, County and State law enforcement agencies are required to send
monthly crime statistics to DCJS.
In 1965, the Geneseo Police Department recorded 195 criminal investigations.
During 2017, Geneseo Police officers were called upon to investigate 838 criminal
incidents. The chart below represents some of the types of crimes that were investigated by
the Geneseo Police Department over the past four years.

Category 2014 2015 2016 2017

Murder/Manslaughter 0 0 2 0
Arson 0 0 0 1
Robbery 2 1 3 0
Assault 6 10 7 9
Burglary/Trespass 19 32 36 31
Criminal Mischief 35 32 63 38
Larceny 104 96 160 153
Motor Vehicle Theft 1 2 1 1
Disorderly Conduct 9 18 10 12
Harassment 38 24 43 32
Drug Violations 51 110 147 118
Alcohol Violations 37 39 38 31
Sex Offenses 6 7 6 6
Family Offenses 28 31 25 25
DWI Offenses 23 47 30 41
Unattended Deaths 5 3 8 2
Total Cases Investigated 725 823 835 838
 Criminal Arrests

Geneseo Officers made 399 arrests in 2017. The graph below shows the number of
arrests over the past several years.

Criminal Arrests
500

400 390 406 385 399

Number of
300
Arrests
200

100
2014 2015 2016 2017
Year

The chart below highlights some of the charges listed in the graph above.

Category 2014 2015 2016 2017

Robbery 2 0 1 0
Assault 4 10 4 5
Burglary 3 3 3 5
Sex Offenses (all types) 2 4 4 3
Trespass 4 5 9 5
Criminal Mischief 9 9 7 8
Disorderly Conduct 10 20 16 6
Drug Violations 49 107 143 112
Harassment (all types) 13 19 15 8
Larceny (all types) 59 35 70 59
Warrant Arrests 29 29 54 40
Open Container 28 32 16 17
Underage Drinking 25 21 24 24
Loud Noise Violations 13 18 17 16
 Grants/Funding

The Geneseo Police Department was able to apply for several Federal, State and
Local grants, totaling $41,987.36 in 2017. Some of the funding will carry over into 2018. A
breakdown of the funding is as follows:

1. Police Traffic Services (PTS) program grant for $13,000. This grant pays for
overtime costs for traffic enforcement. The goal of this grant is to reduce the amount
of accidents we have during the year. This grant targets aggressive driving violations
and seat belt violations.

2. A $14,330 in STOP-DWI funding, to pay for wages associated with DWI

enforcement and the purchase of a laptop computer.

3. A grant in the amount of $1,497.72 from the US Department of Justice to purchase a

new bullet-proof vest for the officers.

4. Specialized STOP-DWI Holiday Crackdown from Livingston County in the amount

of $2,440.56. This funding was used for wages associated with DWI enforcement
around the holidays.

5. The Geneseo Healthy Campus Coalition funding in the amount of $2,752.08 for
alcohol compliance checks, fraudulent license details and underage alcohol
enforcement.

6. A Wal-Mart community grant in the amount of $2,500 for the “Shop with a Cop”
program which was held on December 19.

7. A Protective Equipment grant from New York State in the amount of $5,467 to
purchase ballistic helmets and vests for the officers.

The police department has been able to obtain a total of approximately $791,366 in
funding, since January of 2004.
 Training
The Geneseo Police Department continued to keep its police force trained and
knowledgeable. Training is a consistent and continual process. This training has assisted
Geneseo Police officers in accommodating the growing needs and requirements of the
Village community. Below is a breakdown of some of the training courses Geneseo Police
officers attended in 2017:

Photo Array training

Accreditation Program Manager training
Responding to Sexual Assaults training
Use of Force & Legal Updates training
Criminal Debriefing training
Drug Recognition, continuing education training
Search Warrant training
Mexican Drug Cartel training
Advanced School Threat Assessment training
Empire State Law Enforcement Traffic Safety training
Recognizing Assault Indicator training
Cruelty to Animals training
Health & Wellness training
Dynamics of Officer/Citizen Encounters training
Standard Field Sobriety training
Stop Stick training
Risk management training
Fentanyl review training
Body Camera training
Sovereign Citizen Movement training
First Aid, CPR, AED training
Legal Update/Case Summaries- Search/seizures training
Syringes, Law, and Harm Reduction training
Incident Command System training
Article 35 training
Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) training
External Negligent Conduct training
De-escalation training
Firearms qualification training
OSHA Training- sexual & workplace violence
Taser & OC refresher
 Year in Review
The police department saw an overall increase in our general complaints and criminal
investigations in 2017, compared to 2016. Most of the major reported crimes stayed
consistent with the year before. Our drug investigations decreased, however we did have
more incidents where we were called upon to use naloxone to save individuals that
overdosed on drugs.
The Geneseo Police Department maintained our law
enforcement accreditation in 2017. This is remarkable
considering only about 1% of the smaller sized police agencies
(less than 10 full-time officers) are accredited by New York
State.
The Village of Geneseo also extended the agreement with the Geneseo Central
School for a school resource officer to be placed at the school for
the 2017-2018 school year. The position decreases the police
response time to an emergency at the school and aids faculty with
safety issues. It also gives students positive, routine interactions
with a uniformed police officer and helps develop a sound law
enforcement-community based relationship.
The police department was involved in several traffic safety programs in 2017.
Traffic safety has become a major part of a police officer’s job, due to the increasing
number of vehicles and pedestrians that travel in and about the
Village. These programs include participation in our County’s
STOP-DWI program, our Police Traffic Services grant- speed and
aggressive driving, Buckle-Up New York, Operation Safe Stop-
passed stopped school bus enforcement, and Child Safety Seat
inspections. The police department also participates in a bicycle
rodeo every year at Highland Park, in cooperation with Cornell Cooperative Extension.
 Noteworthy Incidents

The police department was involved in several important cases in 2017. Incidents are
listed by date:

During 2017, officers were called upon to use or assist with dispensing Naloxone on
three separate occasions, for drug overdoses. In each incident, the individual was saved and
transported to an area hospital for treatment. Naloxone is carried by each officer. Naloxone
is a medication that blocks or reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. The police
department has responded to 10 drug overdose deaths in the past 11 years.

On May 3, Jaleena Harrison, age 29 from Geneseo, NY was

charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated driving
while intoxicated (Leandra’s Law), and driving while intoxicated at
the Geneseo Central School. The School Resource Officer charged
Harrison with driving a motor vehicle while being impaired by
drugs, having a three year old child in the vehicle, and also leaving
a three year old child in the car alone without any supervision.

On May 23, Justin Jackson, age 28 from Geneseo, NY

was charged with assault in the third degree and unlawful
possession of marihuana on Meadow Drive in the Highlands
Apartment Complex. It is alleged that Jackson struck a 29 year
old female in the head, causing severe injury to her during a
domestic and he was also in possession of marihuana.
 On June 24, Sharon Davis, age 54 from Geneseo, NY was
charged with felony driving while intoxicated, aggravated driving
while intoxicated, failure to stop at a stop sign, and fail to signal on
Lakeville Road. It is alleged that Davis was driving with more than
double the legal limit and had a previous conviction for driving
while intoxicated. This was Davis's fifth time being arrested for
DWI since 2007.

On August 15, John Maynard, age 26 of Geneseo, NY was

charged with burglary in the third degree, conspiracy in the fifth
degree, criminally possessing a hypodermic instrument, criminal
possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree and
unlawful possession of marihuana. It is alleged that Maynard stole
money from 4170 Lakeville Road and was in possession of a
syringe, suboxone and marihuana when he was apprehended on
Meadow Drive in the Highlands Apartments.

July 21, Fernando Alvarado-Perez, age 37 from Geneseo,

NY was charged with rape in the first degree, criminal sexual act
in the second degree, rape in the second degree, and four counts
of endangering the welfare of a child. It is alleged that Alvarado-
Perez engaged in sexual intercourse with a female when she was
12 years old and when she was 13 years old. An immigration
detainer was also issued on Alvarado-Perez by the Department of
Homeland Security. Alvarado-Perez received a 20 year sentence
in Livingston County Court.
 Goals & Objectives
The police department accomplished several goals in 2017. Law enforcement
accreditation was maintained and the accreditation standards were kept up to date. The
officers also exceeded the number of training hours required by accreditation.
We also implemented our body camera program. The cameras were purchased late in
2016 with a grant by Senator Patrick Gallivan. Each officer received a body camera and
training was also completed by the officers.
Looking forward to 2018, the police department plans on maintaining law
enforcement accreditation. This is a time consuming process. A site visit is scheduled for the
spring of 2018.
The police department would also like to increase its level of supervision in the
department. The 24/7 department is supervised only by a sergeant and a chief. There are
gaps in the schedule where there is not a supervisor on-duty.
The full time staffing at the police department has also not increased in over twenty
years. The department’s full time officers have remained constant at five patrol officers, a
sergeant, and a chief. The newly implemented school resource officer position is only
utilized during school breaks. It has been challenging to keep pace with the increase in
apartments and commercial properties, without an increase in staff.