POUGHKEEPSIE – The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office recently partnered with the New York State Humane Association (NYSHA) to conduct an overview of humane law enforcement for police officers. NYSHA and the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services have created the programming that is offered to members of law enforcement.
Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati is planning to ask the legislature for permission and funding to take over the humane law enforcement (HLE) operation from the Dutchess County SPCA during the next budget cycle. Humane law enforcement investigates criminal behavior involving the abuse or neglect of animals.
In Dutchess County, the SPCA HLE officers investigate complaints with the assistance of the sheriff’s office. To that end, according to Undersheriff Jason Mark, the process can be streamlined by having specially trained members of the sheriff’s office handle humane complaints from start to finish.
“We have the available staff, we are a 24-hour law enforcement agency throughout the county, and our detective bureau already handles humane law enforcement investigations received by the Dutchess County SPCA. We are in a position to provide humane law enforcement services throughout the county,” he said.
NYSHA works to reduce animal suffering, to prevent animal cruelty, and encourage compassion to all creatures, according to its mission statement. Instructors at the recent class at the sheriff’s office included attorney Marc Kissel, who serves on the humane association’s board of directors and serves as the lead peace officer for the Hudson Valley Humane Society in Pomona. He was joined by Veterinarian Isaac Angell of Bentley Veterinary in Stanford, and Senior Assistant Dutchess County District Attorney Scott Johnson who has specialized in animal cruelty investigations for more than six years.
NYSHA holds animal cruelty investigation workshops such as this one, co-sponsored by the State Division of Criminal Justice Services, throughout the state. NYSHA’s presenters are considered experts in their field who provide an overview of cruelty investigation, the connection between animal cruelty and human abuse, the role of the veterinarian in cruelty investigations, and the role of the district attorney in prosecuting a case against violators.
The following agencies attended the workshop to learn the basics of conducting animal investigations involving acts of animal cruelty:
- City of Poughkeepsie Police Department
- Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office
- Dutchess County SPCA
- East Fishkill Police Department
- Empire Rescue Resources
- New York State Police
- Putnam County SPCA
- Saratoga County SPCA
- Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department
