A Message from Peter R. Kehoe, Executive Director

The Sheriffs’ Association was formed in 1934 for the purpose of assisting Sheriffs in the efficient and effective delivery of Sheriffs' services to the public. It is comprised of all of the elected and appointed Sheriffs of New York State.

The specific goals of the Association are:

to provide education and training for Sheriffs and their staff;
to improve efficiency and capability of Sheriffs to provide better services in law enforcement, corrections, civil law enforcement, court security and the many other areas of a Sheriff's responsibility;
to collect, analyze and disseminate important decisions of local, State and Federal courts, which decisions may affect the operations of a Sheriff's Office;
to appear as amicus curiae in court cases affecting Sheriffs and their constituents;
to establish standards of excellence and to accredit Sheriffs' Offices which meet those standards;
to assist Sheriffs and counties in their interactions with state and federal agencies;
to seek grants and non-tax funding sources to assure the deliver of needed programs while alleviateing the burden on local taxpayers;
to advise members of the New York State Legislature and the Governor's Office and other agencies of the Executive Branch concerning the feasibility and implications of proposed legislation or administrative rules or regulations affecting Sheriffs and their constituents;
to cooperate with other police agencies and public officers in efforts to improve the prevention, detection and prosecution of crimes and the punishment of criminals;
and to educate member Sheriffs, their staff and members of the general puclic in all the areas of Sheriffs' duties, all so the puclic might be well sever by the Sheriffs of New York State.

Since the Sheriff is a county officer, there is no responsiblity on the State to train, educate or update Sheriffs in the very complex operations of a Sheriff's Office, which typically may include duties in criminal law enforcement, traffic patrol, emergency rescue operations, homeland security programs, SWAT operations, civil emergency and disaster response programs, jail operations, correctional alternative management, courtroom security, and civil litigation process. Obviously, it would not be practical for each county separately to conduct its own extensive training programs in all these areas of responsiblity for just one Sheriff. The Sheriffs' Association has assumed the considerable burden of designing and implementing training programs for Sheriffs and their Undersheriffs, Law Enforcement Supervisors, Jail Managers, Civil Deputy Sheriffs and Correctional Officers.

I’d like to invite you to become an Honorary Member of the Sheriffs’ Association to join us in our worthwhile efforts. When you join, you will receive a membership card for your wallet, a special bumper sticker, and an exclusive window decal. You will also receive periodic newsletters published by the Sheriffs’ Association.

I hope you will accept this invitation to join today!

Sincerely,

Christopher G. O'Brien's signature

Peter R. Kehoe, Executive Director, New York State Sheriffs’ Association, Inc.

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	Frequently Asked Questions

OUR FUND RAISING POLICY

We never ask for donations by phone. We discourage anyone from donating to a charity on the basis of a phone call - the opportunity for fraud or misunderstanding is too great. If the charitable cause sounds like something you would be interested in supporting, tell the caller you will decide whether or not to donate after they send you information about the charity in writing. Even if they agree to do so, usually you will not receive anything in writing from the caller, and you have probably just escaped being defrauded by a scam artist.
We never want one of our supporters to feel compelled to donate more to our Association than he or she can comfortably afford. From time to time during the year we may seek additional donations for the Sheriffs’ Association Institute's Summer Camp or for some other Sheriffs’ Association project. Some of our friends are able and willing to financially support several or all of our programs, others may not be able to do so. We appreciate whatever our supporters are able to do, and we want you to know it’s OK to say no to us, too.