Genesee Justice, a vital component of the Genesee County community, is pleased to announce its forthcoming relocation to a new office space at the state-of-the-art Genesee County Jail. 

Effective Thursday, April 4, our new address will be:

Genesee Justice, 3839 West Main St Rd. Batavia.

We kindly request that all individuals who refer to our office note this address change to ensure seamless communication and service delivery.

For further inquiries, please contact 585-815-7821 or Genesee.Justice@co.genesee.ny.us

Following an extensive application and site review process, National Children’s Alliance recognizes the Justice for Children Advocacy Center (JFCAC) for its delivery of high-quality and effective services to child abuse victims through accreditation. 

As the accrediting agency for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC) across the country, National Children’s Alliance awards various levels of accreditation and membership to centers responding to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient and put the needs of child victims of abuse first. Accreditation is the highest level of membership with the National Children’s Alliance and denotes excellence in service provision.

The Justice for Children Advocacy Center has a long and successful history of providing services to children and families in the GLOW region. In 1992, Genesee Justice, a department of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, helped establish a multidisciplinary team to serve the unique needs of children that have been physically or sexually abused. 

With the support of many dedicated members of the community and the multidisciplinary team, the Justice for Children Advocacy Center opened its doors in Batavia in 1998. As the program grew, satellite offices in Albion and Warsaw were opened in 2017. The goal of the Justice for Children Advocacy Center is to provide a child-friendly location where highly trained professionals provide forensic interviews, medical examinations, mental health counseling, and advocacy services to children from birth to age 18 and their non-offending family members regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, or financial status. 

Since 1998, approximately 4,500 children have received services at the Justice for Children Advocacy Center, and in 2022, 274 children benefitted from the services available. As an Accredited Member of the National Children’s Alliance, the Justice for Children Advocacy Center is dedicated to providing comprehensive, coordinated, and compassionate services to victims of child abuse.

National Children’s Alliance awards accredited membership based on a CAC’s compliance with 10 national standards of accreditation to ensure effective, efficient, and consistent delivery of services to child abuse victims. 

National Children’s Alliance updated these standards in 2017 to reflect the most recent evidence-based practices in the field of child abuse intervention and prevention. According to these standards, accredited members must utilize a functioning and effective multidisciplinary team approach to work collaboratively in child abuse investigation, prosecution, and treatment.

National Children’s Alliance also considers standards regarding a center’s cultural competency and diversity, forensic interviews, victim support and advocacy, medical evaluation, therapeutic intervention, and a child-focused setting.

“As a team of individuals who are fiercely devoted to professionally and compassionately responding to reports of child abuse, we strive to meet the highest standards of care for child victims and their loved ones. Accreditation from the National Children’s Alliance not only validates our organization’s proven effective approach to responding to allegations of child abuse but also provides consistency across the child advocacy center movement as a whole. A team response to child abuse is what we stand for, and it is our entire team that allows us to provide the highest level of care and service to children and families in our community,” said Theresa Roth, Justice for Children Advocacy Center Program Coordinator.

“The Justice for Children Advocacy Center is to be commended for its excellent work serving victims of child abuse. As the national association and accrediting body for Children’s Advocacy Centers across the country, our goal is to ensure that every victim of child abuse has access to high-quality services that result from professional collaboration,” remarked Teresa Huizar, Executive Director of National Children’s Alliance.

For more information about the Justice for Children Advocacy Center, visit them on Facebook @justiceforchildrencac. 

Monday's Public Services meeting seemed a little too familiar for some Genesee County legislators.

In fact, there was a sense of “déjà vu,” Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said.

Highway Superintendent Tim Hens was reviewing a potential project for repairs at the Genesee Justice site at 14 West Main St., Batavia. The building’s porch and stone foundation was especially in need of work, he said.

“This is exactly the same conversation we had in 2016,” Clattenburg said during the meeting at the Old Courthouse. “At least two or three times we tried to get grants.”

Because of the site’s historical value, a different set of legislators -- including Clattenburg and Shelley Stein --  had agreed to pursue landmark preservation funding to pay for the repair and restoration work, Clattenburg said.

She and current Legislative Chairwoman Stein each remarked how familiar the whole discussion, and Tim Hens’ request to award a bid, was for them. Only this time — instead of an initial estimate of just under $500,000, the cost is now at nearly $1.8 million, more than three times than what was originally quoted.

“We should be kicking ourselves for not doing it sooner, but we didn’t have the money,” Stein said.

The real kicker was that Legislator Christian Yunker was questioning the very same things that others had questioned back then, the women said. He wanted to know more details about the scope and large expense for the project.

The people in those very same chairs years ago also asked such questions, and in the end they didn’t feel it was the right time for this project, Clattenburg said.

There has been a “tremendous amount of damage” that, along with inflation, tripled the initial price estimate, Hens said. There are pieces of stone falling from the top of the porch, and many areas of it are cracked and crumbling.

Yet, as Legislator Gary Maha observed, “it’s got to be done.”

Although it’s a costly bit of work, “it will look like it does now,” Hens said.

“We just won’t have anybody getting knocked on the head,” he said.

The group voted to move the project forward, which involves awarding a construction bid to Montante Construction in the amount of $1,468,100, and authorizing the Genesee County treasurer to amend capital project Facilities Management in the same amount.

That $1.46 million is to be paid from the Building and Equipment Reserve of the Jail that’s also housed in the same building. The total cost of this project is $1,769,510, which is funded by the county’s 1 percent sales tax and the Building and Equipment (Jail) Reserve.

A vote of six to one carried the motion on to the Ways & Means Committee for further discussion and approval. Yunker was the lone no vote.

“I’m seeing this for the first time. I’m having a hard time with it,” he said.

Photos: Costly masonry repair and restoration of the Genesee Justice building at 14 Main St., Batavia comes with a pricier estimate more than three times the original cost quoted to Genesee County legislators six years ago.

Photos by Howard Owens.

However, if the both parties – especially the victim – are willing, it’s worth the effort, says Diana Prinzi, the new coordinator of the Genesee Justice restorative program that is a division of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re working on our first restorative justice reconciliation meeting in the near future and it’s something I would like to see more of,” said Prinzi, a retired U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervisor who started in her county post on Jan. 3. “It’s one of the items on my bucket list.”

Prinzi (pictured at right) was hired to replace Catherine Uhly, who retired last February.

The Le Roy native and current resident of Alexander spent 22 years in various capacities with ICE, mostly at the federal detention center in Batavia, before taking a part-time victim’s advocate position at Genesee Justice early last year.

She said she has been doing her best to learn about the various programs that Genesee Justice has to offer, including victim advocacy, offender accountability, DWI conditional discharge, release under supervision and risk assessment.

Being able to “restore” broken relationships is at the heart of Genesee Justice, an innovative approach to navigating the legal system that has been a hallmark of Genesee County for about 40 years.

“We haven’t had any instances of where the victim, offender and a facilitator have gotten together in quite a while,” Prinzi said. “It’s a process that takes place after the fact, after sentencing, where we try to get them back on track; to be able to move forward with their lives, but the victim has to want it.”

A 1986 graduate of Notre Dame High School with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Brockport State College, Prinzi said she enjoyed her time as a victim advocate and jumped at the chance to lead the agency, which is located at 14 West Main St.

“I’m excited for the opportunity and feel that the qualifications of the job fit mine pretty well,” she said, noting that she scored well on the Civil Service exam that preceded the interviewing process. “Being in law enforcement, I understand that you have to follow the laws, and I believe that my 15 years of supervisory experience is an asset.”

Prinzi oversees a department that, when fully staffed, has 11 full- and part-time employees – case managers, community service victim’s assistants, victim advocates, DWI conditional discharge specialists, principal clerk and financial analyst. Currently, three part-time positions are open.

Genesee Justice serves the community in a number of ways, she said.

“We offer victim advocacy – services to crime victims, such as help with court proceedings, orders of protection, compensation claims, emotional support and referrals to other agencies,” Prinzi said. “Then there is community service, where a person’s sentence might include working at a nonprofit agency with complete oversight by Genesee Justice.”

Services to victims are provided at no charge, Prinzi said, adding that the department interacts with 450 to 500 persons annually.

She said the agency’s first-time DWI offender program has enabled those charged with driving under the influence the chance to complete several requirements over a year to possibly gain a conditional discharge, with a judge having final say in the matter.

Prinzi said the state’s bail reform has affected, to some extent, other programs such as pre-trial release (RUS) and risk assessment.

“Bail reform is being debated (by state legislators) and we’re still reviewing and researching that,” she said.

Outside of the office, she said that she and her husband, Samuel, look forward to spending time with their five grown children and one grandchild, and enjoy hiking and walking outdoors.

For more information about Genesee Justice, go to www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/geneseejustice/index.php.

Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Sheriff William A. Sheron, Jr. is pleased to announce the appointment of Diana M. Prinzi to the position of Program Coordinator at Genesee Justice, a  division of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. Mrs. Prinzi is a retired, 22-year veteran of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement where she held the positions of Detention Officer, Lead Detention Officer, Deputy Chief, Deportation Officer, Supervising Deportation Officer, and Assistant Field Office Director.

Mrs. Prinzi is a Batavia native and a 1986 graduate of Notre Dame High School. In 1990, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Magna Cum Laude, in Criminal Justice, from SUNY Brockport. She resides in Genesee County with her husband, Samuel. Diana was recently hired in February of this year as a part-time Community Services/Victim Assistant at Genesee Justice.

"I am excited to have someone with such character and experience lead Genesee Justice and look forward to working with Diana. She will assume the duties of Program Coordinator as of January 3, 2022," stated Sheriff William A. Sheron, Jr.

The Genesee County Legislature today sent a timely and vital message of “hope and healing” as it issued a proclamation in recognition of National Suicide Prevention Awareness Week (Sept. 6-12), World Suicide Prevention Day (Sept. 10) and National Recovery Month (September).

Legislator Gary Maha, reading from the decree that also shined a light on mental health awareness, said that “in these challenging times, messages of hope and healing are needed more than ever” as representatives of the County Mental Health Department, Genesee Justice and Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse looked on at the Old County Courthouse.

“Where millions of people around the world join their voices to share messages of hope and healing … these observances are united to raising awareness that prevention is possible, treatment is effective and people do recover … in these challenging times messages of hope and healing are more needed than ever,” Maha read.

The proclamation went on to state that county residents have “access to high-quality prevention support, rehabilitation and treatment services that lead to recovery and a healthy lifestyle … and that every day in Genesee County, people begin treatment at behavioral health services and community supports to begin the road to wellness and recovery.”

Maha read that that the “benefits of preventing and overcoming mental health challenges, suicide attempts and loss, and substance abuse are significant and valuable to individuals, families and our community at large … (and) it is essential that we educate residents about suicide, mental health and substance abuse and the ways they affect all the people in the community.”

Lynda Battaglia, director of mental health and community services at the Genesee County Mental Health Department, said it was “wonderful” that the legislature was acknowledging these issues and spoke of the “incredible collaboration” across agencies – calling it “a shared mission” to provide help and hope.

She said that every day, on average, 132 people die by suicide.

“Every number is a person … a loved one,” she said.

Battaglia encouraged those contemplating suicide or having serious mental health or substance use issues to reach out because they “are not alone.”

“There are people who want to help you and care for you,” she said. “We are your lifeline.”

Photo, from left, Shannon Ford, GCASA services director of Communications, Development and Prevention; Sue Gagne, Genesee County Suicide Prevention Coalition coordinator and GCASA recovery center coordinator; Maha; Catherine Uhly, director of Genesee Justice; Legislator Gordon Dibble; Battaglia. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Dennis Wittman, the founding director of Genesee Justice, the nation's first county-level agency built around the concepts of restorative justice, has passed away.

He was 77.

Wittman was a probation officer and supervisor in the Town of Bethany when newly elected sheriff Doug Call came to him in 1980 and asked him to be the agency's founding director. At first, Wittman said no. The supervisor's position felt like a second full-time job and the last thing he needed, he told The Batavian in 2010, was to become the head of a program that was untested and may not last.

Then one day in 1981, Wittman was summoned to his supervisor's office. There he found Tom Gillis, his boss, Call, Family Court Judge Charles Graney, and County Judge Glen Morton.

"I could see they were going to pound away on me," Wittman recalled. "I said, 'OK, I'll give it a try.' "

While Wittman reported to the sheriff, officials didn't want him hanging out with detectives or attorneys, so he was given a desk in the law library. He had no staff at first.

As a former seminary student, Wittman's attitude toward offenders already aligned with the goal of finding alternatives to incarceration.  

Call's goal was to cut the inmate population in the Genesee County Jail to help avoid the construction of a new facility.

By the time Wittman retired in 2006, 4,959 offenders had performed community service, doing 356,858 hours of unpaid work.

The alternative to jail had also saved county taxpayers more than $5.9 million because those offenders weren't in jail for the 60,000 days they would have served otherwise.

During his career, Wittman was also concerned about caring for the victims of crime. Under his leadership, Genesee Justice became the lead agency for:

• Victim's Assistance
• Judicial Diversion
• Justice for Children
• Child Advocacy
• Justice for Women
• Release Under Supervision (a Probation Department program until 2002)
• DWI-Conditional Discharge 

The effort at establishing a government agency dedicated to restorative justice made Wittman an in-demand speaker in the restorative justice community. He traveled to 40 states plus Japan and Canada to talk about his work at Genesee Justice. He received another 2,500 invitations to speak in Europe that he was unable to accept.

To read his obituary, click here.

Previously: The Genesee Justice Story

Photo: File photo from 2010.

“This is coming from the experts,” said County Sheriff William Sheron, who is heading the 12-member steering committee along with County Assistant Manager Matthew Landers.

Sheron, speaking at a Committee of the Whole meeting at the Old Courthouse, was referring to a study conducted by SMRT, the architect under contract with the county, and CRS Inc., a consulting firm noted for its work in jail planning and analysis.

Landers reported that the committee is unanimous in recommending a 200-bed jail in light of the study, which initially found that the county would need a 184-bed facility by 2042, but then changed its estimate to 214 beds after reviewing 18 months of new data. New York State has mandated Genesee County to erect a new jail.

“We felt 214 was too extreme,” Landers said. “We believe a 200-bed facility (with five separate areas or pods) would give us flexibility.”

Landers noted that about 30 of the cells could be sized appropriately to double-bunk (100 square feet compared to 80 square feet) as a relatively short-term solution (as the population swells).

Jail Superintendent William Zipfel, however, said he was against double-bunking.

"It really doesn't work," he said, "and to build a jail for double-bunking would be ludicrous.”

Zipfel agreed that flexibility was important due to the several “classifications” of inmates. He said the jail needs to be flexible as prisoners with special needs (medical, emotional, substance abuse, pregnancy, childbirth, etc.) would have to be segregated at times and given “recreational” space.

The current jail is operating at 95 to 99 percent capacity, Zipfel said, and has created a “lot of strain” on his employees.

Legislator Gary Maha, the longtime former county sheriff, urged legislators to look at recent history when making their decision on the new jail’s size.

“We don’t want to build it too small. That happened to us in the ‘80s,” he said, referring to the County Courts Facility across the road from the Old Courthouse.

As a matter of perspective, Zipfel said that the current county jail houses around 90 prisoners on average and “boards out” to other counties at least 30 more.

“If we moved into a new 184-bed jail today, we’d be at 80 percent capacity (the state’s recommended level),” he said.

When Legislator Andrew Young asked “how do we get from 120 to 200,” Zipfel answered, “As soon as it opens, the female (jail) population in this county will double.”

Zipfel said he values the opinion of the “professionals” who did the needs assessment, and agrees with (at least) the 200-bed figure.

“The Court Facility is too small now and it came back to haunt us,” he said. “We’ve done this before. It would be a shame to do it again.”

Legislator Robert Bausch said 200 beds may be the right size, considering “we’re at about 125 now at the lower end and if 160 is the top end – 80 percent capacity – I could see that the middle ground is going to fill up very quickly.”

Bausch mentioned, at least twice, that each cell costs $250,000.

Sheron and Landers’ agenda also included the possibility of including an “arraignment room” in the facility, moving Genesee Justice to the new jail and the requirement to hire four to five new correction officers as the “jail transition team.”

“If we pushed through an arraignment room, it would save considerably on transportation costs,” Sheron said, adding that he would like to see Genesee Justice there as well because “they’re the ones keeping them (potential prisoners) out of jail.”

The current plan also includes a 2,000-square-foot medical area, said County Manager Jay Gsell.

Landers said the county needs to start budgeting for four or five new correction officers – additional employees mandated by the NYS Commission of Corrections -- to serve as a team dedicated to transitioning from the old jail to the new one.

Sheron added that both jails – he termed the current jail as “antiquated” -- would be in operation for about six months after the opening of the new one.

Following the transition, these officers would be retained and join the sheriff’s office full-time staff.

Landers said the project has moved from the “programming phase into the schematic design phase” following the hiring of SMRT and the Pike Company as construction manager. He said the county has a verbal informal agreement with the owner of adjacent land on West Main Street Road for an additional 2.81 acres, if needed.

While nothing is official at this time, a jail of that size would cost around $50 million, and would be funded by sales tax revenue (the county has restructured its sales tax distribution system with its municipalities) and through a reserve fund, Landers said.

County leaders are looking at county-owned land near County Building 2 on West Main Street Road as a potential site. Sheron said he would hope to see a shovel in the ground by next summer – “if everything keeps moving along." Then it would take about two years to complete the jail.

Other members of the committee are Legislator Shelley Stein, Undersheriff Brad Mazur, Assistant County Engineer Laura Wadhams, IT Director Stephen Zimmer, Planning Director Felipe Oltramari and Deputy Treasurer Kevin Andrews.

Genesee County Criminal Justice Day will focus on "A Case Study of the 1987 Pembroke School DWI Tragedy."

The case study will be presented from 8:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, April 8, at Genesee Community College in Room T102 of the Conable Technology Building.

On June 10, 1987, an automobile accident killed three Pembroke High School students and their driver-education teacher while they were participating in a hands-on driving exercise on Route 5 in Pembroke. Killed at the scene were Rhonda Reeves, Eric Hamm-Johnson, Mindy Beals -- all 17, and 55-year-old instructor Patrick Collins, who died several hours later.

They were struck head on when Lyndon Goodell, 23, drove recklessly on the wrong side of the road while intoxicated. A wrongful-death lawsuit filed later by the victms' families found Goodell and his passenger, Carol Rokicki Elder, equally at fault. Rokicki Elder gave Goodell the keys to her car and the bottle of whiskey that they shared.

Goodell was convicted in a jury trial in August 1988 of manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and several traffic infractions. A month later, Genesee County Judge Glenn R. Morton sentenced Goodell to 7 1/2 to 15 years in state prison.

The wrongful-death suit settlement totaled $340,000 for all four victims, paid out by auto and homeowners insurance companies, including $40,000 from the auto insurance company for Pembroke schools. The sum was considered the maximum obtainable in light of insurance coverage the parties had in effect.

The tragic episode struck the heart of the small Pembroke community.

In next month's presentation, the impact of the trauma will be discussed and details will be shared about how those involved were able to work through the heartbreak and also make positive changes for the future.

This case study will offer different perspectives, including:

• Sheriff's Office Crash Scene Investigator -- Judge James Orr
• Prosecuting District Attorney -- Judge Robert C. Noonan
• Pembroke School teacher -- Gregory Kinal
• Family members: Deputy Patrick Reeves -- brother; and Patricia Reeves -- mother

Bonita Frazer (MS, CTS, FAAETS) will wrap up the day with a presentation on the topic of trauma and its impact on a community.

Cost to attend is $10; students and seniors pay $5. Make checks out to: Genesee Justice (You can write Criminal Justice Day 2019 in the memo line.)

To attend this event, mail payment by April 1 along with your name, address, city, state, Zip code, phone # and email address.

Click here for a PDF registration form.

Mail to:

Genesee Justice

14 W. Main St.

Batavia, NY 14020

For more details or questions, contact Holly McAllister, of Genesee Justice, at 344-2550, ext. 3929, or email her at:   Holly.McAllister@co.genesee.ny.us

Submitted photo and press release:

The Genesee Justice office, part of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, received a nice donation Wednesday from Pastor Vern Saile at the Northgate Free Methodist Church in the amount of $2,732.11 from a day of giving they did through the church.

The money will be used partly for staff trainings and also for program expenses not covered by any other funding received by the office.

"We are very appreciative to be chosen as the recipient of this check to fill existing gaps in our programs," said Tammy Schmidt, financial management assistant, Genesee Justice / Child Advocacy Center.

Top photo: Pastor Vern Saile, of Northgate Free Methodist Church, and Cathy Uhly, program coordinator for Genesee Justice.