SCHENECTADY New police recruits welcomed to city Officials anticipate retirements from force BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
A former New York City police officer, a probation officer and a Lenscrafters lab technician are among the Schenectady Police Department’s latest recruit class. In all, eight new recruits were sworn in Monday, bringing the department’s total complement to 167. Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett said with the anticipated hiring of a new chief, the department will have a cushion of two extra officers to absorb anticipated retirements. Seven of the recruits will head directly to the Zone 5 Law Enforcement Training Academy. Six months of classes begin there Wednesday. The eighth, 24-year-old Anthony Savignano, is to head directly into the department’s three-month field training program. He served three years with the New York City Police Department. The officers entering the academy follow eight more who graduated Friday. They received their guns and badges at a ceremony last week. “We’re getting ahead of the curve with a front-loaded class,” Bennett said. “With anticipated retirements, it’s more cost-effective to replace them now.” Bennett said he understands the department has never been at full strength. “This is welcome news by everybody, citizens as well,” Bennett said. There is lag time. Those entering the academy this week won’t be full offi cers for another almost nine months. Those who graduated Friday still have three months of field training. Department staffing has been cited in debates over officer response times and overtime. Bennett last year pulled three officers out of the public schools to put them on the streets. The department also still has six officers out, five on paid leave and another out on unpaid suspension. The five on paid leave have been out since December. Mayor Brian U. Stratton had the opportunity to meet with the recruits prior to the ceremony. He said he referenced the department’s troubles from recent years. “I told them,” Stratton said, “with every new shift, with every new day, with every new officer, is an opportunity for us to rebuild the reputation of the Police Department.” He said the city will work with them in every way possible to achieve that. “It wasn’t doom and gloom, it was very positive,” Stratton said. “It was also realistic.” The new officers are: Anthony Savignano, 24, of Schenectady, who is to go into field training. His father is Dave Savignano, a long-time streets super- intendent in public works. Mark Weekes, 23, of Schenectady, served in the Air Force and was honorably discharged at the rank of staff sergeant. He is also a member of the New York State Air National Guard. Stratton noted that Weekes is African-American. The department has made an effort to recruit minorities. Andrew Dannible, 20, of Esperance, is a recent graduate of Schenectady County Community College. He has also been a certifi ed lab technician for Lenscrafters. Michael Hudson, 24, of Scotia, graduated from Evangel College and worked for Wal-Mart. Derek Reilly, 21, of Rotterdam, is a recent graduate of SCCC. He has also worked for the state police and the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department. Timothy Rizzo, 24, of Rotterdam, is a 2007 graduate of University at Albany. He previously worked for another blue organization with a shield, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Michael Schonewald, 23, of Schenectady, is a 2007 graduate of Hudson Valley Community College. Matthew Thorne, 26, of Schenectady, graduated from Utica College. He previously was a Schenectady County probation officer.
Mark Weekes, 23, of Schenectady, served in the Air Force and was honorably discharged at the rank of staff sergeant. He is also a member of the New York State Air National Guard. Stratton noted that Weekes is African-American. The department has made an effort to recruit minorities.
After 50 years, I didn't think African-Americans were considered minorities any more. Nor do I think there needed to be made mention of this. Clearly the qualifications were all that was needed.
Quoted Text
Andrew Dannible, 20, of Esperance, is a recent graduate of Schenectady County Community College. He has also been a certified lab technician for Lenscrafters. Michael Hudson, 24, of Scotia, graduated from Evangel College and worked for Wal-Mart. Timothy Rizzo, 24, of Rotterdam, is a 2007 graduate of University at Albany. He previously worked for another blue organization with a shield, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
I guess there really are no good paying jobs in this area for college grads huh?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
The county has had TWO full years to budget for this ... yet they just keep tossing money into Proctors and downtown via Metroplex. The keep increasing budgets in departments like the IT Dept to do "in house" what can be handled by outside vendors for FRACTIONS of what they're paying in house - and have better service.
I can't wait to hear them scream how it was "mandated" and they have no choioc. They waiting almost 3 years to implement the order - they KNEW it was coming and did nothing about it. No planning, no budget changes, NOTHING.
Re July 9 article, “Official: Free up cops for crime calls”: 160 police offi cers and Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett says the department shouldn’t be bothered with the peacekeeping role of calming neighborhood disputes. It’s “not really a police matter,” he says. Never mind that these volatile situations can either fester or violently fl ash into homicides. Never mind that an important role of constables and sheriffs from the beginning was keeping the peace between neighbors. The Schenectady Police Department is an embarrassment to the highest and best traditions of public service, and long has been such. The Gazette should aggressively pursue its abolishment absent prompt agreements to modify the contractual language at the source of the dysfunctionality. Otherwise, let Sheriff Buffardi keep the peace and save some money in the process. JERRY MOORE Scotia
Officer plans suit against Schenectady Police Department worked with his estranged wife to try to boot him from job, he says
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer First published: Friday, July 18, 2008
SCHENECTADY -- Police Officer John Lewis plans to bring a lawsuit against the city, claiming police brass worked with his estranged wife to try to get him off the force. Lewis was charged with harassing his wife, Alison, during a domestic dispute in April and then arrested again two months later charged with violating an order of protection. He was recently cleared in City Court of the harassment.
In a notice of claim filed this week with the city, Lewis also says police created a hostile work environment and tried to publicly embarrass and mock him.
The 14-year veteran of the force claims the "hostile activities," which weren't detailed, began on or about 2001 and continue today.
Lewis contends the department refused to accept a warrant he wanted to file against Alison Lewis that claimed he was the victim in the April 29 domestic incident. Later the city pulled a warrant issued by a City Court judge, the claim states, and has worked with Alison Lewis to try to embarrass him and force him from his job. The court document contends he was victimized by Lewis and her sister, Gillian Fitz, during the altercation.
His attorney, Kevin A. Luibrand, said Lewis returned to the city payroll as of four days ago. Police officials said he remains off the job because of the pending charge of violating a protection order, for which he may face disciplinary charges. Luibrand declined further comment.
Police said Lewis grabbed and pushed his wife after she apparently tried to stop him from leaving her Plymouth Avenue home with their 3-year-old son. His wife testified she was concerned when Lewis took their son without shoes or a coat on a cold day.
The couple are going through a divorce, and she said Lewis, who was not living at the home, was angry that she had changed the locks. Alison Lewis said her husband demanded to come in to retrieve personal items. Once inside, she said, he picked up the boy and took him away. No visitation agreement was in place, and the couple were not legally separated at the time.
In June, Lewis was acquitted in Schenectady City Court of a single count of harassment, a violation.
The notice of claim seeks unspecified damages for loss of wages, legal fees, public humiliation and emotional harm. A notice of claim preserves the right to sue at a later date.
City police spokesman Lt. Brian Kilcullen referred questions to City Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden, who said he may refer the case to an outside attorney to avoid any conflict of interest.
"I'm going to step outside the case so an objective set of eyes can look at it," Van Norden said, noting that he may be involved in personnel matters stemming from the domestic case.
In 1998, Lewis was fired by then-Mayor Albert P. Jurczynski for using a racial epithet in the presence of three people, including a black YWCA counselor working at the Police Department. Lewis was later reinstated after an arbitrator ruled he was dismissed without sufficient cause.
Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.
SCHENECTADY Police officer injured in fiery head-on crash Staff reports
A police officer was injured in a fiery head-on collision with a vehicle being pursued along Brandywine Avenue at about 10:45 Friday night and at least one suspect was taken into custody at gunpoint, according to police radio transmissions. The injured officer was identified by another officer on the scene as J. Favata. The driver of the fleeing vehicle and three passengers were taken into custody in a confrontation following the crash, near the Rite Aid pharmacy at Eastern Avenue. Favata suffered an elbow injury, according to his radio transmission, and his car burst into fl ames. Police converged at Eastern and McClellan and were heard threatening the suspect driver with service weapons. In a shouted, obscenity-laced exchange, police ordered the driver to raise his hands. Shortly after, the suspect was in custody and his passengers were being transported to the police headquarters. Radio traffic indicated the injured suspect was being taken to Albany Medical Center; it was unclear how serious the injuries were to Favata. The incident began only moments before, with an officer reporting that an SUV had run a traffic light on Duane Avenue and then turned onto Brandywine and sped away. The pursuing officer reported that the SUV was driving erratically and pursuit was broken off, but another officer was in his vehicle on Brandywine. Within seconds the collision took place and the officer radioed for help for his injury and reported his vehicle was aflame. A witness said the SUV jumped the curb after striking the police car, then struck other vehicles at the edge of the Rite Aid parking lot.
this man is helping get the demos message out there to the people. it is like when the bombard the beac hes before the invasion on D DAY {private Ryan} and he is the seed planter as well. A seed grows into a head filled with the idea that the police can be schaffed out of the picture and replaced by Bufarddi
That really is an excellent picture. It happened almost 11pm at night - I was surprised to see it in the Gazette this morning - albiet tucked away on like B4
SCHENECTADY $900K police grant coming IMPACT funds helping to make city a safer place BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Gunshots may periodically echo through the streets of Schenectady, but violent crime is down substantially over the past two years, according to law enforcement officials and the latest crime statistics. Officials attribute the decline to Operation IMPACT, a state initiative to control crime in the 17 counties that account for 80 percent of all crime in the state outside of New York City. Violent crime is defined as murder, rape, robbery or assault with a weapon. Since Operation IMPACT’s launch in 2004, Schenectady has received more than $1 million in grants to fight crime. At a news conference in Jerry Burrell Park at 11 a.m. Monday, the state will award Schenectady its largest grant to date: $900,597, an increase of $35,000 from the 2007 grant. Neither state nor local officials would reveal until the news conference how the new money will be used. Past grants, however, were used to establish the growing network of surveillance cameras in the city and to create an Office of Field Intelligence in city police headquarters. The Office of Field Intelligence, by far, has had the greatest effect on controlling crime, said District Attorney Robert Carney and police Capt. Peter Frisoni, who oversees the office. CRIME STATISTICS The office became fully operational in late 2006 and early 2007. It gathers information from various sources and uses crime statistic analysis to proactively tackle crime. “The significant thing is Schenectady did have the greatest decrease in crimes between 2006 and 2007 than any other IMPACT site. [The year] 2007 marked the first year we got significant funds,” Carney said. “That was when we launched the Office of Field Intelligence; that was when we got some resources to do some significant things.” State Division of Criminal Justice Services statistics show Schenectady saw a nearly 14 percent decrease in overall crime between 2006 and 2007; a nearly 14 percent decrease in violent crime; and a more than 13 percent decrease in property crime. “The numbers would have been higher without the IMPACT money,” said Michael Seber, assistant chief of police for Schenectady. “We have increased our patrols with state police. For June, we have had a decrease in index crimes overall.” For the first five months of this year, violent crime continued to decline — 5.7 percent — while property crimes are up 5 percent. Even in this regard, Schenectady’s statistics are lower than those of other IMPACT counties, said John Caher, spokesman for the state Division of Criminal Justice services. “As a general proposition, crime is trending upward in 2008, but that increase is driven primarily by an increase in property crime,” driven, Caher said, by a souring economy. The state’s annual report on Operation IMPACT shows that in the 17 IMPACT counties, which also include Albany, total crime is down 6 percent between 2006 and 2007. It also shows that violent crime is down 10 percent and property crime is down 5 percent. “Crime has declined by an incredible margin,” Caher said. By contrast, counties not in the IMPACT program, for the most part, saw slight crime declines and even crime increases. Tioga County, for example, recorded a 9.4 percent decrease in overall crime while Lewis County saw a 17 percent increase in overall crime between 2006 and 2007. CRITICAL VIEW Professor Scott Phillips, of the Buffalo State College’s Department of Criminal Justice, said he would evaluate Operation IMPACT’s effectiveness in a different manner, rather than just relying on numbers. He said if police are actually using crime statistics to target problem areas and solve crimes, that is a measure of success. “They have to go beyond an inhouse examination and get outside and get the community involved,” Phillips said. “If they are doing that, then they have a better leg to stand on when using statistics as a measure of success.” The state is, in fact, pushing this approach, officials said. In return for IMPACT grants, the 17 counties have to develop partnerships with federal, state and local law enforcement and criminal justice services; develop crime-fighting strategies using real-time data; work collaboratively in making decisions; and develop intelligence-based policing. In Schenectady’s case, the Office of Field Intelligence brought together city police, including two detectives and a police sergeant, the sheriff’s department, state parole, county probation, the district attorney’s office and a civilian crime analyst. All these positions are funded through IMPACT. In addition, the city has partnered with state police to patrol areas of high crime identified through statistical analysis and other methods. “We were the first of the IMPACT counties with a full-time, dedicated Office of Field Intelligence,” Frisoni said. “They are a utility unit and will do whatever is asked of them. No job is too big or too small. They assist law enforcement in everything from murder investigations to assisting other investigative units with cases.” PUTTING PIECES TOGETHER Specifically, the unit sifts through the reams of information obtained from various sources and puts out crime-specific reports with detailed information. The reports go to all officers and are updated weekly. “Everyone is getting the same information. It reduces the chance a critical piece of information will fall through cracks,” Frisoni said. Carney said the unit, for example, helped crack a string of burglaries involving the theft of copper. The unit focused attention on metal reclamation sites and obtained information on people who were frequent customers. Follow-up work helped tie some of these people with the thefts. Frisoni said the unit also played a key role in apprehending a suspect who allegedly raped a woman in a city parking garage. He added the unit is now focusing on pawn shop activity, with the specific intent of reducing property crimes. In other words, police are aware that property crimes are increasing and using crime mapping have devised a strategy to capture suspects. “There were operations shaped to get at those crimes,” Carney said. Frisoni said none of the coordinated intelligence-gathering activities would have been possible without IMPACT money. “It is labor intensive to do this. The two detectives focus on crime data. They have conducted an extensive graffiti investigation, for example. It is a complex investigation that would not be possible using other detectives because they have other priorities. We have made several arrests and made inroads into that particular crime,” he said. Phillips questioned why more departments don’t adopt these techniques if they have proved so successful. “If you have dedicated yourself to priorities that work, why don’t you do it all the time?” he asked. Phillips said one reason is that police agencies are rooted in traditions that take time to replace. As an example, he mentioned road patrols, a strategy police have used for as long as motor vehicles have been available. “They are not working so well,” but police are reluctant to abandon them, he said. He called intelligence-driven policing the community policing of the 21st century. “It is smart policing, it is connecting the dots and it is a step above community policing,” Phillips said. OVER THE LINE Another concern about Operation IMPACT is the possibility of law enforcement overstepping its bounds in the pursuit of reducing crime, according to the Capital Region Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “Of course it’s good and appropriate for the police to be trying new methods and acquiring new resources to stamp out crime, but it is critical that with a stepped-up police presence there must also be stepped-up accountability,” said Executive Director Melanie Trimble. She said police departments must not engage in tactics that alienate communities or violate individual rights. And police officers must be trained to work in the communities they’re policing. “If police flood the streets with a hostile attitude and start suspicionless street stops and interrogations just because a neighborhood is ‘high crime,’ it is going to breed hostility, resentment and antagonism. Distrust and civil rights violations do not produce a long-term reduction in crime,” she said. Carney said police do not stop vehicles based on the driver’s race. The data they collect and use is based more on criminal activity and not on racial profiles. “We focus on what the person does, not who he is,” he said. “We are trying to develop a list of people who are creating the most disproportionate amount of crime and disorder. You will have a greater reduction in crime by concentrating resources on these people.”
Gunshots may periodically echo through the streets of Schenectady, but violent crime is down substantially over the past two years, according to law enforcement officials and the latest crime statistics.
WHAT?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
yes my dear people hear is the fact : violent crime is down 13 per - cent so instead of 98 punches in the nose, one stabbing and one shooting, their is now 50 punches in the nose one stabbing and 36 shootings. Doesnt it look sweet now when you write it up over here in the paper or maybe 48 people whos' nose got punched never called the men in blue afraid they was gonna be shot so tell me people how statistics can lie LIE LIE. This I know to be lies since I actually KNOW the men in blue
Stats----can be,,,,,let's say- manuvered.....just like sheeple........the dirt is the dirt and ALWAYS will be........sometimes dirt makes it out the door and sometimes it makes it under the rug......and sometimes folks actually put it in a jar......GO FIGURE.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Schenectady turns to money to fight gun problem Monday, July 21, 2008 By Michael Lamendola (Contact) Gazette Reporter
. Text Size: A | A | A SCHENECTADY — Hoping to reduce a spike in gun violence, city police are offering to buy back guns or pay a reward for information leading to the arrest of people with illegal guns, officials announced today. Police will offer $100 for every illegal gun turned in, whether it is a handgun or sawed-off shotgun - rifles and other legal weapons are excluded. They also will offer $500 for the information that results in the arrest of a person with an illegal gun. Officials announced the program during a news conference at Jerry Burrell Park. They will use money from a $900,597 Operation IMPACT grant the state awarded to city police, the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department, the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office and the Schenectady County Probation Department. District Attorney Robert Carney called the effort Phase 2. Phase 1 involved an amnesty program, launched in April, that netted seven handguns. Local law enforcement worked with the clergy to develop and offer the program. “You can turn in your gun for $100 or run the risk that a friend will turn you in for $500," Carney said. "Nothing is more important than curbing gun violence.” Police will operate a full-time hotline to answer calls for the new program. The phone number is 758-6566. A public relations campaign also will be launched. According to locally compiled statistics, the city witnessed a 5.7 percent decline in violent crime between January and May. However, for the same period, firearm-related violent crimes increased by 22 percent, and firearm-related robberies were up about 25 percent. Violent crime is defined as rape, murder, robbery, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft. http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/jul/21/0721_impact/
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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