Ashley Terry

Field Period

Winter 2015

Summary Paper

Yates County Sheriff

During the January break I took part in my junior year criminal justice minor requirement

Field Period at the Yates County Sheriff’s Office in Penn Yan, NY. While there, I was set up to

observe three different locations: the Yates County Courthouse, the Yates County Jail, and the 9-

1-1 Communications Division. The jail and the communications division were in the Yates

County Public Safety Building while the court house was across the street.

Each week I started out at the courthouse. I went there every Monday and Tuesday from

8-4. The courthouse itself was open 9-5, but I went in early to help unlock the building and talk

with the sergeant. Court is scheduled to start at 9:30am each morning, depending on the

caseload. This court did not hear any town court matters such as traffic tickets. The court heard

Supreme, county, drug, and family court hearings. Before going into the courtroom all the

parties must be checked in by a court security officer. Caseloads range from 1-45 cases a day,

depending on the type of court that is being heard. Family Court usually has the most. The case

can range anywhere from five minutes to a half hour. Most are first appearances and are usually

pushed back until the people can get a lawyer. Before going upstairs to the courtroom however,

everyone must have their things put through an x-ray machine and the people themselves must

walk through a metal detector. No one is allowed to bring any cell phones, food, or drink up the

second floor unless you are a lawyer. The court security provides each table in the courtroom

with water.

The courthouse has three floors, the first is where the MAG station is and the control

room as well as probation and daycare if you have your child with you and have court. The

second floor is where the larger courtrooms are and where the county judge works. The third

floor is for training and extra space if needed. There is about five officers working during the

day and one sergeant. The hours as said before, are 9am-5pm Monday through Friday minus

holidays. In the control room there are bulletins posted about officer safety, trainings, directives

and memorandums, and active warrants. While court is going on the security officer passes

papers between the judge and the lawyers. If there is a jury involved an officer must sit with

them at all times and cannot leave or speak. Throughout the day, an officer must walk around

the building multiple times to make sure everything is safe and running smoothly. The officers

are rotated throughout the week on the posts they are to be at in order not to be bored or

complacent.

Every Wednesday I was in the jail. Yates County Jail is one of the few jails that is still

linear compared to a pod system. The jail can house up to 65 inmates and carry local, county

and federal criminals. There are two blocks and a dorm where an officer is to sit there all shift

and make 15 minutes walk throughs during the day. The dorm does not need to make

walkthroughs however because it is an open area and the officer on duty can see the entire room

from where they are sitting. When the inmates are sleeping they only have to walk through

every half hour. There are also between two and three rovers that help to relieve the officers on

the blocks and do any errands that the inmates ask for within limits. There is also a small room

where trustees are to sleep, trustees help make and distribute the food the inmates get while

under supervision. These people must be exceptionally well behaved to become a trustee.

Inmates are required to have at least seven hours of recreation time per week as per the

minimum requirements established by New York State. When it is cold out they have rec time

indoors in a room with a pool table, ping pong. books, tables, chairs, and a TV. Otherwise they

are outside in a yard and can play basketball and other sports. Usually there is only one officer

with the group up to 16, but if there is a federal inmate in the group there needs to be at least two

officers at all times. There is visiting on Tuesdays and Saturdays and each inmate is allowed one

hour of visitation per week. They are allowed unlimited phone calls and meetings with their

attorney, but only two phone calls per day otherwise, unless they are locked-in because of a rule

they broke while in jail. Attorney interaction is private as in no officer can listen in, but they

have to be watched. Males and females are to never interact or see each other. Inmates have

strict clothing rules, but are allowed to wear own shoes if permitted.

The jail has a control room that opens all of the gates and has access to all of the cameras

in the facility. The booking station has two officers and is required to ask incoming inmates

many questions and file an abundance of paperwork. There is also a nurse that comes in five

days a week. The job is 24/7 and has full-time and part-time work. To become a part-time

worker there is no test you just need to apply. To become full-time CO you need to take a civil

service exam, attend CO school for six weeks and have an 80 hour training session in the jail.

The final two days of the week I was in the 9-1-1 call center observing the

communications division. When the dispatcher answers the phone they ask the caller what the

emergency is and try to find out as much information as possible about the caller and the

situation. There are three people that are in the dispatch room, one to answer calls and two to

dispatch the appropriate avenue, either fire and EMS or police. This 9-1-1 center deals with all

of Yates County emergencies through phone calls and life alert connections. They have a map

that shows the four zones of Yates County and where the dispatched officers are to help

determine the person who would reach a call the quickest. When taking phone calls dispatchers

must be calm and reassuring as well as strict when needed. To become a dispatcher you must

have 60 college credits, take a typing test, and have a background check before the interview.

Then go through three months of training. The first month is all reading about the job and

requirements, the second month you take only fire calls, and the third month you take only police

calls. Then you have a three day school on dispatch and then eventually a one week training

program outside the call center. The dispatcher deal with all aspects of law enforcement and are

the first step to solving a crime.

Doing my Field Period at the Yates County Sheriff’s Office was a great opportunity. I

learned many new things and I liked that I was able to compare the two county departments that I

observed through my Field Periods. I was very lucky to have such an eye opening experience

into the criminal justice world. It has helped me determine that I want to continue pursuing

criminal justice as a career.