Joseph Graff, proud and humble in his role as Genesee County's sheriff
Photo by Howard Owens.
Working in law enforcement, the way Sheriff Joseph Graff sees it, is the most rewarding job anybody can have.
He's enjoyed everything he's done since joining the Sheriff's Office in 2005 -- road patrol, criminal investigations, chief of road patrol, chief of investigations, and, since Jan. 1, sheriff.
"All of my positions here have been super rewarding for me," Graff said. "You know, everything that I've done, my road patrol time was exciting, fun, and rewarding. Then all the roles I've had subsequent to that have really followed the same suit. So if you ask me, which one I like the best, I've loved them all. I've loved all my positions here. They've all been great. You know, they all have different facets and different parts that are exciting. And you know, certainly I've enjoyed it all."
The Batavian interviewed Graff on Wednesday to see how he's settling into his new role after five months on the job.
Graff is a congenial and cheerful guy who has always been approachable, even on crime scenes and at serious accident scenes.
"I guess I have always tried to, whether it's people in the community or you guys (reporters), or anyone, give people the same amount of respect that you get from them,"
As a field training officer, Graff said that was the same ethic he tried to pass on to the rookies in his care.
Graff grew up in Stafford in a Catholic household, attending Byron-Bergen Central School for a year before transferring to St. Joe's. He graduated from Notre Dame and then attended St. John Fisher, where he studied finance and economics.
He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but felt drawn toward law enforcement. In 1999, he landed a job with Genesee County Probation.
"Patrol jobs were fewer and farther between," Graff said. "Then, you know, at that time in department, life, in society, not a lot of people were retiring. The attrition rate was low. Retirements weren't as frequent as it is now. So I was on the deputy sheriff's list, and when an opening became available, I got hired as a deputy sheriff."
That was in 2005. He worked road patrol until 2015, when he was promoted to chief deputy of road patrol. In 2019, long-time lead criminal investigator Jerome Brewster retired, so Graff returned to investigations as chief deputy of that unit.
When did you first start thinking about becoming a sheriff some day?
"I think it's something that you always think about. You know, when you walk through the door on day one," Graff said.
Do you think all deputies think about becoming sheriff?
"I think they do. I think they should. I think when you do this job, that's something that you kind of always have in your mind, you know, 'Well, yeah, someday I want to be the sheriff.'"
He added, "As I progressed through my career, I had in my mind, always thinking of the end game that, yeah, something I would like to be the sheriff of Genesee County, which, I'm humbled and I'm honored by that."
And, he said, he felt ready for the job when the time came.
"I think having the two roles that I had before this, chief of the road, chief of the Investigation Division, really gave me a front row seat to how the operations work here," Graff said. Then once you get that job, certainly there are other doors. There are those moments of discovery of different things that you have to learn. I'm not naive to the fact that there is still to learn, but, you know, I felt prepared going into it, and certainly having good people around who you know, who have good thoughts and good insights, helps."
Undersheriff Brad Mazur, who also served as undersheriff for Sheriff William Sheron, has been a big help with the transition, Graff said.
"He's been invaluable," Graff said. "All the leaders that we have here at the Sheriff's Office, in the communications division, Animal Control, Genesee Justice, the CAC (Child Advocacy Center), the jail, the road patrol. The Sheriff's Office is more than you know. I'm glad we have established people here who are good leaders that I can trust."
As for goals, the Sheriff's Office, Graff said, has a tradition of community service.
"I want to maintain that, but at the same time, law enforcement has changed even in the course of my career," Graff said. "There's more to do. With the evolution of law enforcement and the changes in law enforcement, I want to make sure that we're staying in step with that and we're still able to provide the community with the services that we should be providing."
For example, he said, just from the time he started in investigations until now, things are "vastly different."
"The opportunities for investigative leads are much higher, but at the same time, we have different types of crimes that we're looking at, too," Graff said. "I don't want this to all be about investigations, but I'm just thinking that in the future, I want to make sure there are offices prepared to handle anything that comes our way."
One aspect of the job that has changed over the past 20 years is that today, there is a greater emphasis on officer wellness.
"I don't want to just say officer wellness. I want to say, our whole-department wellness," Graff said. "I think historically, law enforcement hasn't had a great track record of recognizing (wellness) and taking care of (wellness). We have become more cognizant of that in recent years. That's something that's on our radar and that we're working to better recognize the tolls that this profession takes. We're trying to be better, recognize that, and assist (officers) along the way."
Outside of public safety, what can law enforcement do to make society better?
"Certainly, public safety is our primary mission. ... We're also in the building community relations business, too. I think a perfect example of that is our SRO (school resource officers) program. They're certainly there for the safety aspect of schools, but they also build those relationships with the students in the schools. Those students relate to the deputy that's in the school as a person, and that certainly helps in that in the direction of public safety, too."
The cost to taxpayers for all the SROs in the county exceeds $1 million. Is it worth it?
"Absolutely. The safety of probably our most vulnerable population, our kids, should be a top priority for everyone. The SROs in the schools certainly provide that safety aspect. But as we were talking about a minute ago, I think the relationships they build in the schools, that they build with the students, probably have unseen benefits. You can't really put a number on it, or put a financial price on, just the benefits of having someone there who they know they can go to, builds a trusting relationship with police, which is obviously super important for a community."
Graff and his wife Erin celebrated their 20th anniversary in January. They have three daughters, Gabrielle, who is now in college, and Gianna and Lila both attend Byron-Bergen.
He credits his mom and dad for his work ethic.
"I always believed that if you're going to put your name on something, you want it to be right," Graff said.
He's proud to live and work in a community that supports law enforcement, he said.
"I think we're very fortunate that I live and work in a community where we have the support of our community," Graff said. "It's not like that in other places in the country. I am very grateful that we have the community support that we have here in this county. I think anyone who lives here feels that support. I think it's a great place to live. The weather can be a little shaky now and then, but I love winter. I do love winter. So that doesn't bother me at all."
Any final thoughts?
"I'll tell you, I'm super proud of the Sheriff's Office and who we are and what we do," Graff said. "I still love to come to work every day. I'm excited about opportunities in the future. I want everybody to be as proud of the Sheriff's Office as I am. I guess that's one of my goals."
