It is our pleasure to present to you the annual report of the activities of the Glens Falls Police Department for 1999.
The face of the police department changed again during 1999 with the retirement of Patrolman Richard Tougas and Patrolman Peter Hitlin after many years of service. Joining our ranks this past year were Patrolman Shawnee A. Lovelace and Patrolman William F. Holmes.
Narcotics enforcement continues to be our major concern. Drug use, from our perspective is the most important law enforcement issue currently affecting the quality of life in the Glens Falls area. With that in mind we took a major step late in 1999 assigning Detective Sergeant Lloyd J. Swartz Jr. to work full time on narcotics. Additionally, as part of our ongoing cooperative effort, the Warren County Sheriff's Department has also assigned one officer full time to narcotics. In starting up a full time narcotics unit we quickly realized additional off site office space would be required. Without hesitation Evergreen Bank stepped up and offered us outstanding office space at no cost to the city. Evergreen Bank is to be commended for their outstanding generosity.
On the proactive side of drug enforcement we are continuing in our efforts to reduce the desire to use drugs with our Drug Abuse Resistance Education program reaching literally hundreds of children every year. We are currently presenting the program in the 5th and 7th grades. In 1999 D.A.R.E. Officers Jeff Crotty and Mike Anuszewski were trained in the high school D.A.R.E. component. They will begin presenting that component this semester.
Our drug enforcement plans for 2000 include expanding our effort to reduce the desire to use drugs by targeting the drug purchasers. We plan to begin a program of reverse buy "sting" operation whereby we would actually arrest the individual who is procuring the drug through the use of an undercover "seller".
In March of 1999 we instituted a Customer Satisfaction Survey. Each week or so we mail a survey to randomly selected individuals that have had contact with us within the previous ten days. It is important for us to know what the people we serve think about the quality of service we provide. We need to hear what our police are doing right and where we can improve. We believe the responses we receive will help us shape the quality and future of the Glens Falls Police Department.
The results that we have seen from the returned surveys have been truly heartening. To date we have mailed out 271 surveys. A total of 119 were completed and returned to us. The responses we are receiving have been absolutely overwhelmingly positive. Those results tell us that we are addressing the needs of the people we serve. We hope to continue this program and continue to hone the service product we provide.
In December of 1999 the Glens Falls National Bank was robbed. It was the first bank robbery in Glens Falls in eleven years. The case is still being investigated and the unknown suspect is still at large.
In 1998 the Glens Falls Common Council passed a local law establishing an alarm billing ordinance where alarm users pay penalties on a sliding scale for too many false alarms. We began enforcing that ordinance in January of 1999 and it clearly has been effective. As you will note in the statistical section, our false alarms are down by a significant 15%. The 611 false alarms in 1999 is the second lowest on record back to 1988 second only to 1993 when there were 560 false alarms. By comparison, the all time high for false alarms occurred in 1990 with 1,018. We look for additional reductions in false alarms as the word continues to spread about our alarm billing ordinance. As a result of the alarm billing ordinance the city took in $11,900 in false alarm penalties in 1999. It must be emphasized however, that the purpose of the alarm billing ordinance is not to raise revenue but to reduce false alarms and allow for better allocation of police resources.
We refocused our efforts in 1999 to emphasize a much more aggressive vehicle and traffic enforcement program. As we attend community meetings and get a sense of what people see as important, we constantly and consistently hear that traffic and speeding violations are a concern. Additionally, we can show statistically that in communities where vehicle and traffic enforcement is aggressive, other types of crime go down as well. In 1999 we issued 4,520 traffic tickets which amounts to a 108% increase over the 2,171 tickets issued in 1998. We know that our efforts are making a difference. Of the total number of tickets that were issued in 1999, 1,127 were issued for failure to use occupant restraints. We can see as we drive around our area that the voluntary compliance in seatbelt usage has gone up dramatically, and that very simply is saving lives.
We pledge to continue our occupant restraint enforcement program into 2000. Toward that end we have applied for a grant from the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee for funding for an occupant restraint program that will involve a cooperative effort between us and the New York State Police.
Likely as a result of our increased traffic enforcement efforts, Driving While Intoxicated arrests rose 13.6% in 1999. Once again we saw a large number of those arrests were people we had arrested previously for DWI, as 16.8% of the DWI arrests were for felonies.
We certainly do not view traffic enforcement as a money maker. Our duty is to enforce the law and protect our citizens and good traffic enforcement does that. However there is another significant statistic in this year's report that bears mentioning. As a result of our traffic enforcement effort, the fine revenue to the city's general fund skyrocketed 102 % to $84,225 up from the 1998 revenue of $41,755.
In the fall of 1998 we partnered with Glens Falls City Court Judge David Krogmann; Executive Secretary of the Warren County Traffic Safety Board, John Farrell; and Washington County Victim Advocate, Ronald Bombard, to establish the Warren/Washington County STOP-DWI Victim Impact Panel. Captain Stanley Wood has been overseeing the Police Department's role in the Impact Panel. State law allows judges to require DWI defendants to attend a DWI victim impact panel as a portion of their sentence. The defendants hear from victims of alcohol related crashes and the trauma it causes to victims and families. The Panel was very active in 1999. To date there have been nine panels held with a total of 658 defendants participating. At this time there have no repeat offenders of those participating in the Panel.
Our training hours declined from 5,289 in 1998 to 4,038 in 1999. That is due in part to a reduction in our requested training budget for the 1999 budget year. In addition, lower staffing levels made it more difficult to dedicate members to training and still keep overtime in line. In the 2000 budget the Common Council increased the training budget to the appropriate level and we thank them for that consideration. Adequate, ongoing training is absolutely imperative if officers are expected to keep abreast of the latest technologies, techniques and theories in law enforcement. I am very proud of the tremendous improvements we have made in our training program.
The condition of the police department's headquarters continues to be an issue that simply must be dealt with. For decades our facility has been in need of replacement. To date that need has not been addressed. We continually strive for excellence and professionalism in everything we do. Unfortunately the incredibly poor condition of our facility is a terrible contradiction to everything we strive for.
We the members of the Glens Falls Police Department look forward to serving the people of the Glens Falls area in the coming years and beyond. We consider it our privilege to serve with knowledge, courage and integrity.
Respectfully Submitted,
Richard P. Carey,As usual in 1999 we investigated numerous narcotics-related crimes, sex crimes, larcenies and some unusual investigations that I have attempted to summarize for the purposes of this report.
In January with the assistance of the New York State BCI at Queensbury, we arrested a Queensbury man for the theft of more than $20,000 worth of computers through the internet. Several computers were recovered through the investigation. Also in January, through our efforts with the local drug task force, we arrested a Hudson Falls man after an investigation into the local sale of LSD.
In February a 25 year old Glens Falls man was charged after an investigation into the sale of marihuana to children under the age of 12. He was also charged with sexually abusing two of the children. Also in February a bookkeeper of a local insurance business was charged with Grand Larceny and Insurance Fraud after an investigation into the theft of insurance premiums from the business. A 38 year old Glens Falls man was charged with Rape First Degree, after a report by a 13 year old female stating she was raped while staying overnight at her friends residence.
In March a Glens Falls man and a New York City youth were arrested in front of City Hall after a brief chase as they exited a bus from New York City carrying more than a half an ounce of crack cocaine and marihuana. The man had been under investigation for more than a year for purchasing bullet proof vests locally and buying stolen handguns and then selling them on the streets in New York City. He would then purchase crack cocaine and return to Glens Falls to sell the crack. Also in March, a Glens Falls woman and a Troy man were arrested after an investigation into the sale of crack cocaine in exchange for food stamps. Finally in March a 15 year old Glens Falls youth was petitioned to Family Court after he falsely reported being robbed by two black men on First Street.
April 1999, a Glens Falls man was arrested after an investigation into reported child abuse. The same man has subsequently charged with Felony Assault on the same child in January 2000, after the child reported that he was punched in the face by the same man, knocking his tooth out. After an investigation into crack sales in the area, the local Drug Task Force arrested a Hudson Falls man, who was on parole for previous crack sales. The man was in possession of more than a half an ounce of crack at the time of his arrest. The Drug Task Force also arrested a Hudson Falls man and two residents of the Albany area for crack sales and possession, and we charged two Troy men for selling fake crack cocaine in Glens Falls.
May 1999 a Glens Falls husband and wife were charged after an investigation with Warren County Child Protective Services into the abuse and neglect of their three children. The couple was charged with repeatedly mentally and physically abusing the children, including engaging in sex acts in front of the children. A 21 year old Clifton Park man was arrested for Filing a False Instrument, after he offered a forged document to the court showing that he had been incarcerated on the date that he was arrested for DWI, and therefore couldn't have been driving. A 21 year old Comstock man was arrested and charged with Sodomy and Sexual Abuse after he was released from prison for abusing an 8 year old Glens Falls boy. When he was released, he moved to a location near the former victim, the victim's sister, who was 6 at the time, then came forward stating that she had also been abused. The defendant subsequently confessed and was sent back to prison on the new charges. A 32 year old Glens Falls man was charged with sexually abusing his 16 year old daughter. An 18 year old Glens Falls man was charged with burglary after his neighbor reported that twice, someone had entered her residence and stolen her underwear. During one of the burglaries the resident awoke to find the suspect in her bedroom. And a 22 year old Queensbury man was charged with selling crack cocaine in Queensbury, Hudson Falls and Glens Falls after an investigation by the Drug Task Force.
June 1999 a bookkeeper of a local business was charged with embezzling more than $3,000 from her employer and falsifying business records to hide the thefts. Also a 46 year old Saratoga man was arrested for embezzling more than $8,000 from a local museum while employed there. A 27 year old Glens Falls woman was arrested after an investigation with Child Protective Services into the assault of a 5 year old boy by the woman's 32 year old boyfriend. The woman was subsequently charged with Assault First Degree for burning another child with a cigarette and her boyfriend was charged with and has pled guilty to attempting to influence the child victim's testimony toward the woman in the burning incident. We assisted the Warren County Sheriff's Department with the capture of an escaped prisoner from the Glens Falls Hospital. The prisoner subsequently admitted to several burglaries and stealing a car in Glens Falls after his capture. The Drug Task Force charged a 32 year old Hudson Falls man with Felony Sale of Marihuana after an investigation into the sales of Marihuana from a local restaurant.
In July a 35 year old Glens Falls man was charged with Grand Larceny, after an investigation into the thefts at a local convenience store where he had been employed. He confessed that the money he had taken was to support his crack cocaine habit. A 21 year old former New York City man was arrested after assaulting Glens Falls man with a razor blade, causing severe cuts to his head. The defendant had also been charged with robbing a local convenience store last December. And a 21 year old New York City resident was arrested and charged with several counts of sale of crack cocaine, after an investigation by the Drug Task Force into local crack sales.
A 27 year old Hudson Falls man who was on parole for Burglary was arrested and charged with several burglaries in Glens Falls in August, after an investigation with Hudson Falls Police, New York State Parole and the New York State Police.
In September of 1999 a 62 year old Ballston Spa man was arrested and charged with menacing, after he threatened to kill the unborn child of a woman that he had previously sentenced to prison for raping. He had been on parole until April of 1999. A 45 year old Glens Falls man was charged with Rape, Sodomy and Possession of an Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child for possessing a photograph of the 13 year old child victim. He was charged after school officials learned of the allegations by the child and saw the defendant waiting for the child to leave school and notified police, and four Glens Falls residents were arrested after their apartment was raided. Crack cocaine, marihuana, drug paraphernalia and more than $1,000 cash was seized at the time of the raid. They were charged with numerous counts of possession and sale of cocaine and marihuana, after an investigation by the Drug Task Force.
October 1999 a 60 year old Queensbury man was arrested after an investigation into a report of a 20 year old Glens Falls woman being raped and sodomized at her apartment. We assisted the FBI in locating and arresting a 19 year old Glens Falls youth, wanted for his participation into a kidnaping assault. And a 27 year old man recently paroled was arrested for sexually assaulting a city woman.
In November of 1999 we arrested a 34 year old Glens Falls man for Tampering with Physical Evidence, after he substituted his own urine with his child's urine and submitted it for drug testing as required by the Warren County Probation Department for his previous conviction for marihuana sales. A 46 year old Glens Falls man was arrested after an investigation into the sexual abuse and sodomy of a 13 year old child that he was familiar with. And a 17 year old Glens Falls youth was charged with numerous counts of selling marihuana to other youths that he was familiar with.
Finally on December 14, 1999 the Glens Falls National Bank on Glen Street was robbed by a white male. The investigation into the robbery is continuing with the assistance of the New York State Police and the FBI.
ARRESTS
1998 1999
Felonies 365 275
Misdemeanors (including DWI) 929 794
Violations (including Other) 637 676
Warrants 304 362
Total 2,235 2,107
DRUG ARRESTS
Felonies 37 31
Misdemeanors 25 36
Violations 59 87
Total 121 154
VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT
Traffic Tickets 2,009 4,336
DWI Arrests 162 184
Total 2,171 4,520
Percentage Felonies 15.4% 14.2%
PARKING TICKETS
Tickets Issued 4,752 4,893
Fines Collected (parking) $61,205 $54,385
(criminal) $41,755 $84,225
Total Fines $102,960 $138,610
ACCIDENTS INVESTIGATED
Fatal 0 0
Personal Injury 115 123
Property Damage 593 630
Total 708 753
LOCKUP DETENTIONS
Total Lockups 538 594
ELECTRONIC INTRUSION DEVICES RESPONSES
Unfounded (false) 718 611
Founded 4 1
PROPERTY CHECKS
Total 40 41
DOORS FOUND OPENED BY OFFICERS
Total Doors 188 138
COMPLAINTS/POLICE ACTION
Total 17,600 21,468
DETECTIVE DIVISION
Cases Assigned 301 247
Arrests 319 203
ASSET FORFEITURE PROGRAM
Shares received by police $4,108 * $28,912
* Impending Assets
1998 1999
ODOMETER MILES PATROLLED
Car 10 53,990 6,908 13,414
Car 10A 85,461 9,327 11,434
Car 10J 0 8,597 1,112
Car 11 12,112 6,569 7,082
Car 12 79,222 7,288 3,473
Car 13 3,816 13,896 10,037
Car 14 0 20,146 17,608
Car 15 29,723 14,759 21,298
Car 16 24,307 17,097 17,420
Car 17 6,976 21,013 14,670
Car 18 60,021 24,756 21,641
Car 19 5,686 19,212 5,686
Car 20 65,404 24,759 23,786
Total 194,327 168,661
Bicycles 3,863 2,328
GRAND TOTAL 198,190 170,989
There are fourteen intersections covered by 14 School Crossing Guards. The cost to the City for salaries amounted to $62,670.
TITLE NUMBER OF POSITIONS SALARY SCHEDULE Chief of Police 1 $49,419 Captains 2 $40,604 - $41,178 Sergeants 4 $37,934 - $39,079 Detective Sergeant 2 $38,983 - $39,554 Investigator 1 $36,192 Police Officers 22 $26,573 - $36,623 Secretary to Chief 1 $21,834 Desk Officers 4 $19,302 - $26,312 Traffic Aides 1 $22,381 School Crossing Guards 14 $62,007 (total)
ANIMAL CONTROL REPORT
1998 1999
Complaints Handled 1,605 1,404
Animals Sheltered 115 88
Animals Returned to Owne 104 73
Animals Redeemed 57 55
Animals Adopted 23 9
Animals Euthanized 35 24
Animals DOA 147 112
Animals Hit by Car 29 14
Wildlife 264 332
Total Animals Handled 699 663
License Fees (Original) $1,227.00 $943.00
Redemption Fee $1,574.00 $1,463.00
License Fees Renewal $3,661.00 $3,578.00
Total Fees $6,462.00 $5,984.00
Dangerous Dog Cases 6 7
Other Police Agency Calls 11 9
Town of Queensbury Calls 36 27
Rabies Cases NYS 1,096 921
Warren County 5 6
Rabies Cases - City of Glens Falls 2 3