*** February 9, 2024 ***
In our continuing commitment to transparency, we are happy to announce that we have completed another dashboard in the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office Transparency Hub. In addition to the C.A.R.E. Team dashboard that was released on 01/26/24 (see below), we now have finished our Defensive Action (Use of Force) dashboard.
This dashboard provides data in relation to contacts with the community that result in either a "show of force" or an actual "use of force". Although force is utilized by TCSO members in very low numbers compared to the number of community interactions and arrests we are involved in, we feel it is important to share with our community how force is utilized and in what manner.
In 2023, deputies had 17,796 total interactions with the public, during which the show of force/use of force was only utilized during (point) .37% of them. Actual force was only utilized during (point) .23% of the interactions. This equates to only 41 use of force incidences of varying degrees in 2023, most of which occurred while attempting to make an arrest. This is attributed to the quality of the work our deputies perform, a high-level of de-escalation training and skills, and the positive relationship & reputation our members have with the public they serve.
Sheriff Osborne stated, "I am proud of the caring attitude our members exhibit during even the most trying of involvements, most of which result in successful de-escalation and a peaceful resolution. When a defensive action becomes necessary based on a perpetrator's actions, I am confident that it is performed fairly and with the minimum amount of force required."
The dashboard provides information related to the demographics of those involved, the municipality, type of incident, and level of force used among other metrics. For easy reference, our policy's related to use of force are included alongside the dashboard.
2024 data related to Defensive Action Reports will be published in this dashboard soon and will be updated monthly from that point forward. Our Office will continue to release additional hubs throughout 2024 as they are completed.
The Sheriff's Office would like to again thank the Tompkins County Information Technology Services Department for their continued partnership in making this project possible.
https://tompkins-county-sheriffs-office-tompkinscounty.hub.arcgis.com/.
