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 Offices 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 independent of the resources of the
main office. The Field Office patrols are able to spend considerable 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 southern most 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, analysis of call volume and general consensus of
patrol deputies indicated that the southern area of the county would be more
efficiently patrolled from a local 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 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 the newly built 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 compliments 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, Towns of
Florence, Vienna, Annsville and the Village of Sylvan Beach.
In April 2000, the Verona Field Office, located in a building owned by the
Oneida Indian Nation, was closed when the Nation and Oneida County became
involved in Indian Land Claim litigation. In October 2001, the Griffiss
Technology Park Field Office was closed when the business park was incorporated
into the City of Rome.