Court Security Officer PD McDaniels

The Court and Building Security Division is responsible for Steuben County’s multi-bench court system in Bath as well as city courts in the cities of Hornell and Corning.

The Division also has the responsibility for providing a safe environment for the public and employees using the courts, and the Steuben County Office Building complex. The complex consists of the three-story County Office Building and five additional buildings situated in the heart of the Village of Bath.

Supreme, County, Family and Surrogate Court proceedings are presided over by three county judges within the complex, which also contains the chambers of Appellate Division Justice Henry J. Scudder. The County Judges are Peter C. Bradstreet, Marianne Furfure and Joseph W. Latham.

Metal detectors and X-ray machines are operated by Division members located within the Bath complex. This equipment was provided by the state New York Unified Court System and Office of Court Administration. All purses, bags, packages and mail coming into the facility are scanned. Additionally, metal detectors are in operation at the city courts.

To provide these protective services the Division staff includes a contingent of both full-time and part-time deputies and court officers, headed by Court and Building Security Supervisor, Sergeant Daniel A. Brown. A full-time deputy sheriff and part-time court officer are assigned to each of the city courts.

In all, the metal detector/X-ray stations intercept an average of 5,000 items per year that are not allowed in the buildings. Items not allowed in the building are: firearms, knives, razors and box cutters, scissors and other sharp instruments, pepper sprays and a variety of tools and other items that could be used as dangerous instruments. Division members have made arrests for unlawful possession of marijuana at the screening stations and for possession of switchblade knives. Also, deputies have made arrests for Penal Law violations that have occurred in the buildings.

A deputy sheriff is assigned solely to provide security for the public and several hundred employees who work in the County Office Building, particularly in the Department of Social Services. Several security measures have been installed to assist in providing a secure work environment for those employees and the public they serve.

With extensive use of these facilities, more than 225,000 persons a year pass through the detectors. To better serve the public, Division members have been trained in the use of cardiac-related Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). Three of the life-saving devices are available at the Bath complex and there is an AED at the courts in city halls in Corning and Hornell.