Robert J. Berben
Lieutenant

Robert J. Berben is Commander of the Special Services Division, after having served as a patrol officer and patrol sergeant. Lieutenant Berben holds a degree in criminal justice.

The responsibilities of the Special Services Division include the management and supervision of the Detective Office, Family Services Unit and the department's crime prevention program. The Division Commander is further responsible for public safety communications, E-911 emergency phone system, computer aided dispatch, police hard copy and electronic records, federal and state record reporting, New York State Sex Offender Registry, freedom of information requests and animal control. He works closely with local police agencies, fire departments and emergency medical services to assure that responses are coordinated through the communications center so that there is immediate response to an emergency or other medical service.

Training

Special Services is responsible for all departmental training and the maintenance of required certifications. The Division schedules personnel to attend training and sets up in-house programs that we sponsor for law enforcement agencies throughout upstate New York. The Bethlehem Police Department is known statewide for its commitment to law enforcement training and we view the education of our personnel as very high priority.

Although there is an effect on available manpower when personnel are assigned for training, there are mandatory certifications that must be maintained regularly. Some examples include:

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Detectives

The Detective Office consists of four Detectives under the immediate direction of a Detective Supervisor. Their duties include the investigation of all major offenses and unattended deaths. They conduct extensive background investigations of applicants for employment and are responsible for the security, storage, accountability and disposition of all evidence and property coming in to the possession of the police department. They work cases with investigators from other law enforcement agencies including local police and federal and state authorities. They assist patrol officers in investigations and arrests and assure continuity in the chain of evidence necessary for the successful prosecution of a criminal case.

Detectives also work closely with the Albany County District Attorney's Office, as well as with the victims of crime.

Over the years there has been an increasing demand on investigators for information and supporting facts and documentation when pursuing a criminal prosecution. To assure a successful outcome in a criminal case investigators are held to a standard of proof, which must be met. The close working relationship with the Albany County District Attorney's office has provided the town with their part of the criminal justice system which is efficient, effective and fair, maintaining a sensitivity to both the victim and the offender.

Federal Trade Commission's AVOID Theft Brochure

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Family Services Unit
(518) 439-3373

Press Release       June 17, 2005 Bethlehem Police Offer Child Identification and DNA Kits Free to Residents

The Family Services Unit, formerly the Youth Bureau, has an expanded role in the way the department interacts with families at risk. Not only is the unit responsible for all investigations where the suspect is less than sixteen years of age, but directly involved in other family matter, such as:

Domestic violence follow-up to ensure that victims are offered services to help their family in a time of crisis, and to see that children in families where domestic violence occurs are safe and living in an acceptable environment. In school-age children, to see that school resources are made available to children who may need or request them.

Working with families in neighborhoods where a registered sex offender may be living, to make notifications as allowed or required by law and to protect the rights of both the offender and the residents.

Elder abuse and care, to help the elderly so that they are less likely to be the victims of crime and to offer resources that provide services for special needs that an elderly person might have. Unit members work closely with the town Senior Citizens office and the county's adult protective department.

Work closely with local, state and federal agencies in the aggressive investigation of child sexual exploitation.

Juvenile officers are specially trained and state certified experts in dealing with adolescent behaviors and problems. All officers assigned to the Family Services Unit are state certified juvenile officers and members of the New York State Police Juvenile Officers Association. They work closely with Albany County Family Court, the Albany County Attorney, the Albany County District Attorney's Office, state and local child and adult protective agencies and a variety of other social agencies. Juvenile Officers visit all elementary, middle and high schools in the Bethlehem and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk School Districts as well as St. Thomas the Apostle Parochial School. They are sensitive to family dynamics and attempt to bring together all of the resources necessary to help a child or family in crisis.

The primary focus of the Bureau is threefold:

1- Investigations - As stated above and other instances where youths are involved as victim or suspect. As an example, in 2001 the unit conducted several "sting" operations to prevent the sale of alcoholic beverages or tobacco products to underage persons; these efforts resulted in the arrest of several suspects for such sales.

2- Prevention - Crime prevention efforts are provided to make individuals, businesses, and neighborhoods and certain vulnerable persons more aware of how to protect them from being the victim of a crime. Prevention efforts to combat school violence are made primarily through the School Resource Officer Program and D.A.R.E.

3- Education - Educational and informational programs are conducted throughout the year, mainly in the schools, whereby Officers provide information that is timely to the season.

Teen Drinking Tipline (518) 439-1503
If you know of a teen party where alcohol might be served to minors, call the Police at the tipline. Your call will be held in strictest confidence.

The Family Services Unit is under the direction of Detective Supervisor Michael F. McMillen, an officer with more than twenty years experience. He is past president of the NYS DARE Officers Association and currently is a member of the Steering Committee of the Zone 5 Regional Law Enforcement Training Center. He is also a member of the NYS Law Enforcement Training Directors Association.

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Crime Prevention

Preventing crime saves money, saves lives, reduces injury and reduces property loss. The patrol car that you see on the street is by it's presence, a crime prevention tool used in conjunction with a formalized crime prevention program.

Specially trained officers follow up every serious offense to provide information to victims on how better to protect themselves and their property. The unit assists residents with the creation of Neighborhood Watch programs and encourages the use of owner applied identification numbers.

Neighborhood Watch Program
Crime Prevention specialists meet with residents of a geographical area to form a Neighborhood Watch community. This program teaches families to look out for each other, identify suspicious activities and report them to the police. The area is prominently identified as a Neighborhood Watch Community by the signs posted at all roadways into the area.

Operation ID
Operation ID is a program where Crime Prevention Officers provide a distinctive identification number that can be tracked anywhere in the country by any police department. This number, specific to a person or a family is then applied to any of the owner's property by use of an engraver, provided by the department. The use of owner applied numbers deter theft and facilitates the recovery and establishment of ownership of lost and stolen property.

Federal Trade Commission's AVOID Theft Brochure

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D.A.R.E.

The most visible program that the department provides is Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE). Specially trained officers go into the elementary, middle and high schools in the Bethlehem and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk School Districts and St. Thomas The Apostle Parochial School, to provide this nationally recognized program. The DARE program teaches students self-esteem at a critical time during their adolescence and provides no-nonsense information about drug and alcohol abuse as well as preventing violence. The message is presented across the country with the same curriculum and teaching methods and over a period of time, will prove to be one of the most effective anti-drug/alcohol programs ever taught to our children.

The DARE program is sometimes criticized on a national level mainly because the value of the program is not fully understood by its critics. Any prevention program is difficult to quantify with regards to its success. DARE is just one piece of the puzzle that works together with educators, business leaders, community leaders, the clergy and local government to provide support for adolescents during a difficult time of their life.

Part of the DARE curriculum requires classroom visitations to grades K-4, to familiarize children with the basics of the program, to establish a rapport with the officer and to symbolize the cooperation between the police department, government and the school.

Because so many children who live in the Town of Bethlehem attend schools in the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district, the department provides DARE training for all of the schools in the RCS district, including those in the Town of Coeymans. We are able to do this because of the strong commitment to the program and the full cooperation of the RCS School District, officials of the Town of Coeymans and the Coeymans Police Department.

The School Resource Officer Program and the D.A.R.E. Program are prevention efforts. Their value cannot be measured or quantified but in our experience for more than thirty years, we have found that when segments of the community come together with a common mission such as with the schools and the police, the children benefit, the schools enjoy a resource not otherwise available and the image and the effectiveness of the police are increased by making them part of this common effort.

Positive role models in our schools and otherwise in our community provide a base from which our children's lives may be enriched. These "partnerships" help to provide a safe, nurturing environment and contribute to the quality of life in the Town of Bethlehem.

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School Resource Officers

The School Resource Officer (SRO) Program was initiated in January of 1996 with the approval and cooperation of the Bethlehem Town Board and the Bethlehem Central School District. This pilot program was completed at the end of the school year and upon review, all agreed to continue the program full time. The program is recognized statewide as one of the most successful youth violence prevention programs between a municipality and a school district.

The concept behind the SRO Program is simple. To put another positive role model in the schools to help with children at risk, provide specialized teaching and instruction, interact with children in an informal setting and to provide a presence, which helps to assure a safe, effective learning environment. This partnership between the schools and the police has proven to be very effective means for sharing common concerns and providing a unified effort in our children's education and well-being.

SROs interact with school administration, guidance staff, teachers, school support staff and students. They attend school social functions, sports activities, PTA and staff meetings and go with the students on field trips, recreational outings and other school activities. They work closely with school staff and parents to support children entering the Middle School and the High School. During this critical time as a child matures and advances, the sensitivity to their needs, fears and ultimately to their successes is of foremost importance to educators and the officers alike.

SROs play an active role in the "Step-up Program" and the "Step-out Program", each designed to help students at risk more easily move from elementary to middle school or from middle to high school. Reports and evaluations from the middle and high schools support the value of keeping SROs in the schools and the positive impact on police- youth relations is without precedence.

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Field Operations Unit

This new bus, built to our specifications, has state of the art communications capability and the ability to provide all emergency functions, including a direct link to state and federal databases, from anywhere in the town. The unit will also be brought to the scene of major incidents to be used as a command center. We are also planning for a second site location away from our main offices where direct hard-wired communications and computer access could be established should the communications center at headquarters go down such as from the lightning strike in 1998. By having this capability, we can assure that under any circumstances, emergency communications can be maintained.

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Records Section

The Records Section of Headquarters Division secures and stores all departmental records. It is responsible for data entry and retrieval, and for all state, federal and local statistical reporting that is required for the department to make. This is accomplished under the direct supervision of First Sergeant Paul F. Roberts, an officer of more than twenty-five years experience.

Records Section is the repository for all departmental records of arrest, incidents, accidents and other departmental reporting. All statistical information is provided by Records to Division Commanders for evaluation and determining departmental needs and directions.

Federal Trade Commission's AVOID Theft Brochure

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Freedom of Information Requests

The Headquarters Division Commander reviews requests for the release of information or records pursuant to freedom of information laws. All information that may be lawfully disclosed is provided upon request.

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New York State Sexual Offender Registry

New York State provides law enforcement agencies with a registry of sex offenders who have been convicted and are now living in our communities. Headquarters Division maintains this registry and makes information available to the public as allowed by law. Public notice of a sex offender’s name and residence may be disclosed to the public by the Chief of Police when certain criteria are met.

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Pistol Permits

The division is responsible for investigation and control of pistol permits and explosives licensing.

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Communications

The Police Department is responsible for Police, Fire, advanced and basic life support and heavy-duty rescue dispatching in the town. This is accomplished under the immediate supervision of Communications Supervisor Maureen Bartkus who oversees a staff of full time and per-diem Telecommunicators. Communications personnel are highly trained and have often sustained life or revived patients while awaiting the arrival of emergency medical services.

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Animal Control

Lost animals
Surrendering or Adopting an animal
Law regarding appropriate shelter for dogs
Information regarding Rabies
Reporting of wild animals
Protecting pets during winter months

The town has two full time animal control officers scheduled for eighty hours a week coverage. Calls for animal control services (use 518-439-9973) continue to increase fueled mainly by the public's awareness and concern for the possibility of exposure to rabid animals and most recently, the West Nile virus.

The purpose of Animal Control Services in a suburban community are best described by Animal Control Officer Richard A. Watt:

Licensing & Identification of Dogs

All dogs over four months in age and any dog that is off the owner's premises regardless of age in New York State must be licensed (N.Y.S. Department of Agriculture and Markets Law). This is to be accomplished within thirty days of obtaining the dog. To obtain a license, bring a current rabies vaccination and (if applicable) a neutering / spaying certificate to the town or city clerk in the municipality where the dog resides, filling out a dog license application (the form and instructions are available on this web site) and paying a small fee. A license obtained in the Town of Bethlehem must be renewed once each year, due the same month that it was originally obtained. Licenses (with few exceptions) must be on the dog at all times. Not only is this the law but it is the best way we can find the owner of a lost dog.

Cats

Cats belong inside your house. Not only can a roaming cat damage wildlife, make your neighbors mad (some sue for damages), get hit by a car (some drivers also sue for damages), become coyote food and catch all kinds of diseases, they also do not live as long as an inside cat. FACT - outside cats average lifespan 3 years, inside cat average lifespan 15 years. Do you really love your cat?

Lost Animals

To report a lost animal, please call the Bethlehem Police at 439-9973. Please note, dogs seized and impounded are taken to Reigning Cats and Dogs, 759 Route 9W, Glenmont, NY 12077, (518) 767-9718.

When searching for a lost animal and after contacting the Bethlehem Police at 518-439-9973, please also think about how close you live to one (or more) of the town's borders. If you think it is possible your animal wandered into another jurisdiction, contact them as well; Albany 518-434-5091, Coeymans 518-756-2059, Guilderland 518-861-6855 or New Scotland 518-475-0385.

Adopting or Surrendering an Animal

The following agencies and groups can be very helpful to people who want to adopt or surrender a pet. This list is by no means exhaustive and does not constitute the Town's endorsement or recommendation (please see this web site's disclaimer at http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/includes/disclaimer.asp), there are other groups that may be available for any and all types of animals.

A good source of information is http://www.petfinder.com/ where web users can learn before you adopt, search for adoptable pets and find adoption/rescue groups. You can support organizations such as these by using charitable search sites when searching the web, one such search site is http://www.goodsearch.com/ which has a number of these local adoption/rescue groups already in their choices of recipients of your search proceeds.

http://www.mohawkhumanesociety.org/
Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society
518-434-8128
3 Oakland Avenue, Menands, NY

http://www.peppertree.org/
Peppertree Rescue
518-435-7425
Albany, NY

http://www.capp-petplacement.org/
Companion Animal Placement Program
info@capp-petplacement.org
518-292-0555
Rensselaer, NY

http://www.homewardbounddogrescue.com/
Homeward Bound
518-424-1738
Albany, NY

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NY107.html
Doggiehaven Rescue
Doggiehaven@aol.com
518-286-1177 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. - this is a volunteer's home phone number, please leave a message if no answer)
East Greenbush, NY

http://www.animalovers.org/
Animal Lovers
animalovers@empireone.net
518-448-5468
Albany, NY

http://www.northeastdogrescueconnection.com/
North East Dog Rescue Connection
nedogrescueconnection@gmail.com or info@northeastdogrescueconnection.com
Cairo, NY

Law Regarding Appropriate Shelter for Dogs

Governor Pataki signed into law a bill that requires that dogs kept outdoors be provided with a waterproof, structurally sound and adequately insulated shelter which must allow freedom of movement and normal postural adjustments. The shelter and the area immediately surrounding it must be regularly cleaned.

For more information regarding the law, please see http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS, select AGM for Agriculture and Markets, then Article 26 - Animals, and then Article 353-B "Appropriate shelter for dogs left outdoors."

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Rabies

Testing criteria for suspected rabies cases changed in 2000 where only animals suspected of having rabies that were reported to have contact with human or domestic animals were tested.

NOTE: Suspected rabies exposure testing is provided by N.Y.S. DECON, Wildlife Pathology Unit, 108 Game Farm Road, Delmar, New York 12054 (518-439-8017)

The New York State law regarding pet rabies immunizations has changed recently. The updated law contains more stringent regulations than in the past, and now applies to ferrets as well as cats and dogs. For a schedule of Albany County Rabies Clinics, please see http://www.albanycounty.com/departments/health/programs/rabies_schedule.htm.

Rabies Vaccinations in New York State Fact Sheet (in PDF format) http://www.albanycounty.com/departments/health/programs/RabiesVaccFactSheet.pdf

Animal Control Officers Richard Watt and George Grandy continue to serve the Town of Bethlehem with compassion and kindness and a dedication to protecting our residents, their pets, and wildlife in general.

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Wild Animals

By law, everyone who owns, possesses or harbors certain wild animals must report the location of the animal to his or her municipal clerk (Town Clerk's Office) on or before April 1 of each year.

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/fire/wildanimalslaw.html

List of animals
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/fire/wildanimalslist.html

Form
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/fire/pdfs/WARF.pdf

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Protecting Pets During Winter Months

Winter is a time we should pay close attention to the safety of our pets. Here are some safety tips to follow:

• Ingesting anti-freeze can be fatal for your dog or cat. It has a sweet taste and even a tiny amount can cause severe kidney damage and even death. If you spill some, soak it up immediately. (Clay kitty litter works well. Discard the litter once the anti-freeze has been absorbed.)
• Pets that live outdoors should be fed a bit more in the winter because they need the extra calories to stay warm. They also should have fresh water put out a couple of times a day, or consider a special bowl that prevents the water from freezing.
• If your pet goes outdoors, be aware of the temperature. Pets can get frostbite very easily on the ears, tail and paws.
• When walking your dog, check the paws to make sure that ice is not building up between the toes and that salt from the roads is not irritating the skin.
• If your dog is a swimmer, keep it on a leash around open water or unstable ice. Hypothermia can set in quickly and the dog may be unable to get out of the water.
• Before you start your car, you should honk the horn to make sure that a cat has not decided to nap in a warm spot under the hood of the vehicle.
• If decorating for the holidays, keep ornaments out of the reach of your pets. Remember that poinsettias, holly, mistletoe and other plants can be toxic if ingested.

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