Oneida County Public Safety initiative announced

Today Sheriff Maciol, along with OHM BOCES Supt. Howard Mettleman, stood together with Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente as he made a historic announcement putting into action multiple public safety initiatives that he first introduced during his State of the County Address last month. Today’s announcement included:

-$500,000 to create and help pay for Special Patrol Officer positions from the Sheriff’s Office for school districts that wish to add them to their facilities.

-The addition of four new Oneida County Emergency Services 911 dispatcher positions to assist with high call volume.

-The creation of a Program Coordinator position within the county Department of Emergency Services to develop community safety plans and emergency services protocols.

-The embedding of three newly created Oneida County Sheriff’s Deputy positions and an armed Oneida County Probation Officer position to accompany county Department of Social Services caseworkers on home visits.

-The issuance of new smartphones to all DSS caseworkers which are equipped with emergency notification and GPS location capabilities to ensure their safety on visits.