FLX MORNING PODCAST – Cayuga Co Sheriff Brian Schenck, Undersheriff Stu Peenstra

In this episode:

• Undersheriff Peenstra has been working on our Body Worn camera program.  We plan to deploy them at the end of the month to our Road Patrol Deputies.
• In 2022 law enforcement responded to 227 overdoses in Cayuga County as compared to 278 in 2021 and 208 in 2020.  There were 13 overdose fatalities in 2022, 16 in 2021, and 21 in 2020.  Fentanyl is the primary cause of death in these cases.  One concerning trend we have seen over the years is that toxicology results in fatal overdose cases indicates a growing trend of multiple drug use, not just heroin / opiates.  This concerns me in that many individuals may not even know that there are potentially dangerous deadly opiates in the drugs that they are using at the time of death.
• The department is exploring the use of Ipads by Road Patrol Deputies to link those in mental health / addiction crisis with immediate mental health and addiction crisis resources. 988 is available to those currently needing help in our community.
• The jail population is at 177 today.  That number has been climbing in recent months.
• The department has developed a threat assessment and management team in partnership with Cayuga County Mental Health to identify, assess, and manage threatening behavior that could potentially impact our area schools. It is hoped that the program will expand beyond our schools and address all threatening behavior in our community to prevent violence.