For Immediate Release: 1/19/2017

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Andrew M. Cuomo | Governor

GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES NEW MOHAWK VALLEY CRIME ANALYSIS CENTER

Center Supported by New York State in Partnership with Law Enforcement Agencies in Oneida County

Newest of Eight Centers Across Upstate New York to Help Police and Prosecutors More Effectively Solve, Reduce and Prevent Crime

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the opening of a Crime Analysis Center to serve Oneida County and further expand the statewide network of intelligence and data sharing centers. The Mohawk Valley Crime Analysis Center was developed in partnership with law enforcement agencies in Oneida County and is the newest of eight centers across the state supported by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

“New York will continue to invest in protecting communities across the state by supporting law enforcement agencies with advanced technology to help solve crimes, protect victims and bring offenders to justice,” Governor Cuomo said. “The new Mohawk Valley Center will strengthen the state’s crime analysis network even further by connecting more agencies and providing the resources needed to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers.”

Located at the Utica Police Department, the Mohawk Valley Center was established by the State Division of Criminal Justice Services in partnership with the Utica Police Department, Oneida County Sheriff’s Department, Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, Oneida County Probation, and the New York State Police. The Center currently has six employees and operates five days a week. When fully staffed in March, it will have 10, including crime analysts, investigators and field intelligence and probation officers. The Center provides analysis and investigative support to police and prosecutors throughout Oneida County in real time to more effectively investigate cases and solve, reduce and prevent crime.

The Utica Police and Division of Criminal Justice Services hosted a tour of the Center this morning to encourage additional law enforcement agencies and neighboring counties to share their data with the Center and use its services.

DCJS Executive Deputy Commissioner Michael C. Green said, “This Center is an invaluable asset to law enforcement in Oneida County and 127 other police agencies that share data with the state-supported network. As with the others across the state, the Mohawk Valley Center will help police and other law enforcement agencies to work quicker and more efficiently than ever before. In addition, the Center will provide even more coverage to the state network, which has grown to encompass nearly a quarter of the counties in Upstate.”

The Mohawk Valley Center is supported by approximately $280,000 in state funding and features a state-of-the-art video wall measuring 6-feet high by 12-feet wide. The video wall can display multiple sources of data in real time, including public surveillance cameras in Utica and the countywide computer-aided dispatch feed. The Center will have access to information from any agency that uses the countywide records management system in Oneida County. Additionally, the Center uses advanced technology to map crime “hot spots” and access information such as reported crimes, arrests, and parole and probation records to provide intelligence to officers and investigators in the field, and prosecutors preparing for trial.

With the opening of the Mohawk Valley Crime Analysis Center, law enforcement agencies in 16 counties now benefit from the work done by crime analysts, field intelligence officers and other professionals who staff centers across the state. In addition to Oneida County, centers are located in Albany, Broome, Erie, Monroe, Niagara, Onondaga and Franklin counties. The Albany County Center serves that county, as well as Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties, and the North Country Center supports law enforcement in Clinton, Essex, Franklin Hamilton, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties.

The state invests approximately $6 million annually on personnel and technology to support the Crime Analysis Center network. A map of the Centers is available here. Each Center is overseen by a board of directors with local and state representatives. In addition to DCJS, the following agencies sit on the Mohawk Valley Center's Board of Directors: the Utica Police Department, Oneida County District Attorney's Office, Oneida County Probation Department, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department, and the New York State Police.

In addition to being connected to each other, centers in the state-supported network have access to information from locally supported centers in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. The State Police, state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, state Department of Motor Vehicles, and federal Probation Department also permit all state-supported Centers to access information they maintain.

The Crime Analysis Centers and their staff have been recognized by international and national organizations for their innovative use of technology and quality of their work, including the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts, the Center for Digital Government and Digital Communities, Government Security News, and the International Association of Crime Analysts, which recently presented awards to analysts from the Albany and Monroe centers.

Oneida County Sheriff Robert M. Maciol said, "This Center is a phenomenal resource for us and other law enforcement agencies across Oneida County. Its staff will provide our investigators with real-time crime analysis, allowing them to work more efficiently than ever before. I encourage law enforcement agencies in neighboring counties to join us, share data with the Center and take advantage of this invaluable tool."

Oneida County District Attorney Scott D. McNamara said, “I am pleased to have this center as a resource in Oneida County. Real-time crime analysis helps law enforcement begin gathering evidence and helpful information from the moment they are dispatched to a crime scene. These details can later be used to effectively prosecute and ultimately convict offenders, especially those implicated in complicated cases.”

Utica Mayor Robert M. Palmieri said, "The Mohawk Valley Crime Analysis Center is a valuable tool that will help law enforcement keep residents in Utica and throughout Oneida County safe. This high-tech center will provide a wealth of information that officers in the field can tap into in real-time. This resource will enable our law enforcement to work more efficiently than before, which is a win for public safety in our community.”

Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said, “Timely crime data collected from the analysis center will aide law enforcement in solving crimes and will help to keep our community safe. Experience tells us that crime travels and doesn’t have borders. I would like to thank Governor Cuomo and DCJS for their investment in our county and recognize the strong partnerships we currently have in Oneida County with our County’s District Attorney’s office, Sheriff Office and Probation Department, as well as the New York State Police. This will be a great resource for all law enforcement agencies in the area in their efforts to reduce crime within their respective communities.”

 

Additional news available at www.governor.ny.gov
New York State | Executive Chamber |press.office@exec.ny.gov | 518.474.8418