Question for Niagara area PO's

[mooseman]

I was in the Niagara Falls area this weekend and seen a wheatfield police car. I never knew that wheatfield had their own police department??? I always thought the wheatfield area was patrolled by the NCSO or NYSP. I did a google search for the police department and found nothing. Can anyone verify this for me??

Thanks,
RJ

[hxd]

There is no indication of a police department on the Town of Wheatfield website. And with all of the time I've spent out there in the past, I can't recall ever encountering a Wheatfield police car.

Are you sure it wasn't a repurposed car from another agency that was being used by school security or code enforcement? I know they like to do that a lot out there. When North Tonawanda takes cars out of service, they tend to go to the water department, the highway department, and other various offices.

[mooseman]

Trust me.... I took a double look at the car. It said "Town of Wheatfield Police". I watched the officer get out of the car and in FULL uniform.... gun and all.... He was going into the Dunkin Donuts at the corner where 62 meets Cayuga dr and Walmore rd.

Weird....

RJ

[irishlad2nv]

Could be the Sheriff's Deputies who are assigned to the town itself. I have seen many town with "resident deputies" and on their patrol cars they have the towns name on it, as well as the SO.

Do they have a town constable?

[95mercury]

Could be the Sheriff's Deputies who are assigned to the town itself. I have seen many town with "resident deputies" and on their patrol cars they have the towns name on it, as well as the SO.

Do they have a town constable?

I used to live in Wheatfield. Yes, they are constables but are also sheriffs as far as i know. There is a sheriff assigned to the town but I'm not sure if he uses those cars or is in a county car.

[ME1998]

they have town of niagara police who are not sheriffs, and niagara county sheriffs, regardless of where they patrol, they are ncsd, not wheatfield police department

[95mercury]

Town of Niagara has had it's own police dept for as long as I can remember. Wheatfield still doesn't last I checked.

[Munlaw]

The Town of Wheatfield has a Town Constable...

[Yogi298]

Wheatfield has town constable who are peace officers (not allowed to stop cars, jump calls, etc). Plus they have a dedicated sheriffs deputy, who uses a sheriffs car.

[Munlaw]

Wheatfield has town constable who are peace officers (not allowed to stop cars, jump calls, etc). Plus they have a dedicated sheriffs deputy, who uses a sheriffs car.

So what does Wheatfield's Town Constable do ? Misdemeanors (example shoplifting calls/possession of marijuana), state violations (under age drinking/consumption), Town code violations (burning yard waste without permit, parking enforcement, unregistered dogs) ?

[Yogi298]

They provide court security, drive around, thats about it, as peace officers they do have some powers but are very limited, there cars have no MDT's, radar, lidar and such. I supposes that they can do town violations, but more often than not, the complantant is gonna call the sheriffs office and a deputy sheriff will respond, instead of calling wheatfield town hall and having a constable respond.

[gbotj]

Yogi, you seem to be a little misinformed about what peace officers can do.

Peace Officers can do all the same things a Police Officer can do with the exception of stop question and frisk, and execute warrants. We do have little exceptions on when/where we can SQ&F (if we have reason to believe the subject has a weapon on them).

I suggest you read the CPL on the exceptions, and limitations we have. As peace officers we have very broad powers. Some agencies may limit what you are allowed to enforce, but as a peace officer the constable is authorized to conduct car stops, write for VTL, and do everything you do on patrol.

[Munlaw]

They provide court security, drive around, thats about it, as peace officers they do have some powers but are very limited, there cars have no MDT's, radar, lidar and such. I supposes that they can do town violations, but more often than not, the complantant is gonna call the sheriffs office and a deputy sheriff will respond, instead of calling wheatfield town hall and having a constable respond.

The Constables aren't on the Sheriffs radio system...That's a little odd...

Most of us Municipal Bylaw Enforcement Officers at both the County and City/town level in my area are on the Police radio system...It works well, as the Police can dispatch County-level Municipal Bylaw Officers like myself to illegal dumping calls and the City-level Municipal Bylaw Officers to noisy party and parking calls...

What do Wheatfield Town Constables carry for use of force options ?

[falcon]

As far as I know the powers of peace officers is restricted to there geographical area of employment which is the property where they are employed. If your a bay constable for example who is a peace officer you cant enforce laws outside of your employment area ie.the bay. I haven't read the CPL in a while so I could be mistaken

[Dinosaur32]

Geographical area of employment generally relates to the governmental entity that employs the Peace Officer....so New York State Court Officers have jurisdiction statewide since the Court system is a statewide branch of government. Huntingto Town Bay Constables are employed by the Town of Huntington. Their law enforcement authority is not limited to to the waters of Huntington Township.

[Yogi298]

Actually I know exactly what a peace officer can and cant do maybe i should of choosen my wording better, as i have first hand knowledge of the wheatfield constable set up. Since they dont have an ORI they cannot write v&t or complete DIR's and other state paperwork since you need an ORI to complete these common forms. The constables as stated before do court security, the reason they carry a firearm, thats why they are not on the county radio. I know in other areas of the state i.e. Long Island, constables have broader power so it could very well be a decision left to the municipality that they work for. Possibly i could of worded my pervious post to avoid some confusion because the Town of Wilson(Niagara Co) also has constables that do not have cars and only do court security, and do not go on patrol. Also wheatfield has a dedicated sheriffs patrol that only covers wheatfield, So there is no need for the constables to be out there.

[Munlaw]

Actually I know exactly what a peace officer can and cant do maybe i should of choosen my wording better, as i have first hand knowledge of the wheatfield constable set up. Since they dont have an ORI they cannot write v&t or complete DIR's and other state paperwork since you need an ORI to complete these common forms.

ORI numbers...Are they assigned by the NYSAG's Office on behalf of the FBI ?

What's a DIR...Sorry, I'm from north of the border...

[Yogi298]

Dont know who assigns them maybe DCJS?, I just know they dont have one, they are also called a NCIC #, a DIR is a Domestic Incident Report. You cannot complete an acceptable DIR or a V&T ticket if you do not have one and you need one to complete arrest reports.

[Munlaw]

Dont know who assigns them maybe DCJS?, I just know they dont have one, they are also called a NCIC #, a DIR is a Domestic Incident Report. You cannot complete an acceptable DIR or a V&T ticket if you do not have one and you need one to complete arrest reports.

A different violations written on different forms in NYS ? Is underage drinking is written on a different ticket than a moving violation for example ?

Here in Ontario, all ticketable violations of provincial and municipal law (excluding parking offences) are written on the same ticket form...

[MaxPower]

certian laws (ie. v&t, navigation law, etc) are written on a uniform traffic ticket, everything else is an arrest report

as for weatfield...could be just a part time pd w/ 1 car?

[Munlaw]

certian laws (ie. v&t, navigation law, etc) are written on a uniform traffic ticket, everything else is an arrest report

Wow, that sounds like it makes for a lot of paper work...

Here in Ontario, if a Police Officer finds some one blowing a red light, a Ministry of Transport Officer finds a guy driving a truck with the wrong class of license, a Ministry of Labour Officer finds a restaurant paying it's worker less than minimum wage, a Municipal Bylaw Enforcement Officer finds an unlicensed taxi-cab or a University Police Constable finds a 17 year old student drinking underage, it's all written on the same Part I Provincial Offence Notice...No reports etc, just a simple ticket...Nice and quick...

[Yogi298]

No, they are not a part time PD, Just constables, about 4 or so of them and they have several cars that are parked at the town hall, with no police radio's, radar, or MDT's.

[95mercury]

I used to live in Wheatfield. When I was there, it was just a couple of old guys driving around. I didn't think they really had any powers beyond being able to call for an actual sheriff if there was a problem. Sorta like a security guard. I could be wrong, though. I know the setup has become more "sophisticated" since I moved away. I think the sheriff deputy that is assigned to the town is the "head" constable. Some of the other constables could be off duty LEO's. Again, it's been awhile.

I still can't get past thinking of this guy whenever I hear "constable"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/Odo.jpg

:D