Providing frequent and timely law enforcement services
The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office maintains three Highway Patrol Field Offices, which are located in rural, but populated, areas of the county.
The Field Offices are intended to provide more frequent and timely law enforcement services to those areas of the county that have shown a need for increased law enforcement services, but which are not efficiently serviced from the main office in Oriskany. Field Office locations are determined by statistical analysis of call volume and travel time and the availability of a building suitable as a Field Office.
Three or more deputies report directly to each field office for their tour of duty, and they perform the same patrol function as deputies assigned to the main office. The Field Offices are equipped with equipment and patrol vehicles that allow deputies to perform their duties independently of the resources of the main office. The Field Office patrols are able to spend considerably more time patrolling within their patrol zone than would be possible when traveling to and from the main office.
Waterville Field Office
The Village of Waterville is located in the southernmost portion of Oneida County and patrol cars traveling to Waterville from the Sheriff’s Office in Oriskany must negotiate some of the most populated and traffic-dense areas of the county. In early 1990, an analysis of call volume and the general consensus of patrol deputies indicated that the southern area of the county would be more efficiently patrolled from a locally based office. Sheriff Gerald F. Washburn and officials of the Village of Waterville agreed to the establishment of the Sheriff’s inaugural Field Office, and in 1991, the Waterville Fire Department completed the construction of a new building with office space included for a Sheriff’s Field Office. The Waterville Field Office covers the Villages of Waterville and Oriskany Falls and the Towns of Sangerfield, Marshall, Bridgewater, Paris, and Augusta.
Barneveld Field Office
The second Sheriff’s Field Office was established in 1992 in the Village of Barneveld. This office, located in Barneveld Firehouse, was constructed by off-duty Sheriff’s Deputies and volunteer firemen. The office is responsible for patrolling the Villages of Remsen, Prospect, Holland Patent, and Boonville and the Towns of Boonville, Forestport, Steuben, Remsen, and Trenton.
Camden Field Office
In 1993, the Sheriff’s Office met with officials from the Village and Town of Camden to discuss the implementation of a third Field Office in the western section of Oneida County. The Camden Village Police Department donated space in their building for the establishment of the Camden Field Office. This office complements coverage provided by the Village Police by providing closer backup, more patrol presence, and better communications between agencies. The patrol area for this office includes the Town and Village of Camden, the Towns of Florence, Vienna, Annsville, and the Village of Sylvan Beach.
