Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch presented City Council with a proposed resolution Monday night for a Memorandum of Understanding among Genesee County law enforcement agencies and the Monroe Crime Analysis Center in Rochester to share information. It received strong support.
Heubusch explained to Council members that over the past few months local law enforcement has coordinated with the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services and MCAC to develop the agreement.
He said becoming a member of MCAC is the best approach to access information databases and facilitate crime response and investigation.
“What this memorandum does is it allows us to share information with Monroe Crime Analysis Center and also reap the benefits of them sharing information with us,” Heubusch said.
This new crime analysis system also comes at no cost to city taxpayers.
“Being a member of the crime analysis center in Rochester costs the city zero," Heubusch said. "It’s really about gaining that information and being able to analyze that information in a way that we can’t now."
The chief said that most of the criminal element in Batavia is connected to individuals from the City of Rochester and the Monroe County region. The MCAC memorandum will allow local police to share records with Monroe County law enforcement in real time.
The memorandum includes resources like crime monitoring and background checking information to alert law enforcement of identifying factors when pursuing suspects.
City Council members reacted favorably to the proposed resolution.
“It seems like, according to this, between the state police, the [Genesee County] Sheriff, Monroe County Sheriff and District Attorney, our District Attorney, DCJS — they’re all signed on to this," Council President Eugene Jankowski said. "It’s good to be sharing information.”
Other agencies participating in the memorandum are the Le Roy and City of Rochester police departments and the Genesee County and Monroe County probation departments.
City Manager Martin Moore wants to reduce crime and restore a sense of safety in Batavia. In June, the first Batavia Crime Task Force meeting was held so law enforcement and city leaders could talk about ways to combat crime.
“I want to thank the police department working together with the other police departments," Moore said. "This is one of the things that was brought up in our initial Crime Task Force meeting, and it’s one of the first actions that our police is working on."
The MCAC memorandum is expected to aid in identifying sources of crime, mapping incidents and arrests and following crime trends. MCAC is one of the task force’s first strides toward securing resources to prevent and deal with crime.
The proposed resolution for the memorandum will be forwarded for consideration by Council. The next City Council Conference and Business meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 12 at the City Hall Board Room, 2nd Floor, City Centre.
