New York State - Division of Criminal Justice Services

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Western RegionBuffalo City Police DepartmentCheektowaga Town Police DepartmentErie County Office of the District AttorneyNiagara County Office of the District AttorneyNiagara County Sheriff’s OfficeNiagara Falls City Police DepartmentBuffalo City Police DepartmentFor the majority of 2009, the Buffalo Police Department (BPD) continued with itsaggressive approach targeting motor vehicle theft and motor vehicle insurance fraud bydeveloping effective strategies and by working collaboratively with the many local, state,and federal law enforcement agencies in Erie County and surrounding counties. Thisteam approach helped to reduced motor vehicle theft by 30% when compared to 2008.Over the last 10 years (1999 to 2009) Buffalo, in keeping with the state of New York’sdecrease in the number of reported stolen vehicles, is down 47%.Buffalo’s General Investigation Unit (GIU) Auto Theft detective has trained patrolofficers from five police districts, focusing on switched vehicle identification numbers,the use of the license plate readers, and the identification of potentially stolen vehicles.Also, the GIU detective has utilized the assistance of crime analysts assigned to theErie Crime Analysis Center, housed in Buffalo Police Headquarters. This relationshipleads to the analysis of real-time and hot-spot data in order to enhance investigativeefforts and is interfaced with the department’s COMPSTAT process, which involves biweeklymeeting sessions attended by all administrative chiefs, patrol commanders anddistrict detectives/detective sergeants. The alternating day/evening meetings allowofficers who are assigned evening shifts the ability to attend; thus requiring fullparticipation by all department members. These meetings are used as a means toincrease the flow of information between the districts and units, with emphasis on theflow of crime and quality of life enforcement efforts. The discussions are based uponstatistical analysis of Part I crime and mapping not only in the various patrol districts, buthow it relates to crime in the entire city. Timely and accurate crime statistics and crimemapping are used. Various crimes, such as motor vehicle theft and insurance fraud areexamined. During the first part of 2009, data was presented that indicated a spike inauto theft during the months of March through September. Patterns were reviewed anddiscussed and upon examination, it was found that there seemed to be a pattern of joyriding and also, field intelligence gathered seemed to point to a couple of neighborhoodswhere certain gang members, aged 18 and under, were spending time. The GIUdetective worked more closely with patrol in Districts “D” and “E,” where auto theft washighest.NYS DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MVTIFP BOARD / ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Page 54
During the summer, the GIU Unit worked with the Buffalo Fire Marshal’s Office,Erie County Sheriff’s Department, and the Erie County District Attorney’s Office andmade an arrest in an incident involving a stolen Buffalo Police car that was recoveredand burned in the Town of Colden, New York. Buffalo police, along with the Erie CountySheriff's Department and other suburban police agencies, worked together to make thatarrest.An area of concentration for this year’s auto theft grant was stolen cars crossingthe Canadian border. Because Buffalo serves as an international border crossing, theGIU Unit and the detective assigned to the “Border Enforcement Security Team” (BEST)Task Force through U.S. Customs/Immigration looked at possible auto theft casesinvolving cross-border entries. In some cases, cars can easily be driven across theborder before a car owner is aware their vehicle was stolen.An investigation conducted by Buffalo's GIU detective involved a police officerfrom the "D" District who was on patrol, pulled over a suspected stolen Honda Civic andwas suddenly dragged by this stolen vehicle. During the course of this investigation, itwas found that members from the "7th Street Gang" were involved in an increasingnumber of thefts of Hondas and Acura Integras in the city. Through a cooperativeintelligence gathering effort with the Gang Unit and Buffalo Public School Security, anindividual was identified as a suspect. Also assisting on the arrest were the New YorkState Police and state Department of Motor Vehicles.During the first quarter of this reporting period, Buffalo Police reinstituted itsprogram with eight of the most active scrap processors in the Buffalo area due to therecent surge in MV-35 investigations; 2 more than last year. The theft of numerousvehicles fitting the criteria for MV-35’s ( 8-10 year old vehicles valued at less than$1,250.) occur in the City of Buffalo on a daily basis. During this fiscal year, wecontinued to look at salvage yards and the number of cases is usually staggering. Forexample, when the GIU detective(s) had 13 cases developed in a week, it meant thatthere was the possibility of 26 felony charges and 13 misdemeanors that had to becompletely investigated. Those charges would again double if the defendant in eachMV-35 sale sold an additional vehicle. These are quality of life issues for Buffalo, sincethose vehicles involved in the salvage thefts are normally vehicles that don’t havecomprehensive insurance. For the most part, they are stolen by subjects who had priornarcotic arrests and received payment between $80 and $125 for each vehicle. BuffaloPolice also continued to monitor tow truck operators who were reported stealingvehicles that were usually 8 to 10 years old. These operators then took the majority ofvehicles to salvage yards, affirmed with a MV35 that the vehicles are theirs and thenthey scrapped them. Due to the cooperation of the most active scrap processors in thearea participating with Buffalo Police’s efforts to thwart motor vehicle theft, this type ofscam has decreased by close to 5%.The Department of Motor Vehicles examines the MV-35 records and the BuffaloGIU detective assisted with two cases under investigation with DMV. The GIU detectivecontinued to help Buffalo's five police districts, along with other law enforcementNYS DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MVTIFP BOARD / ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Page 55
Page 4 and 5:
Table of ContentsPageI. Introductio
Page 6 and 7:
All of the tasks outlined above are
Page 8 and 9: addition, officers representing 16
Page 10 and 11: 1000Motor Vehicle Theft Rate/100K P
Page 12 and 13: The Division of Criminal JusticeSer
Page 14 and 15: These crimes add an estimated 10% t
Page 16 and 17: per 100,000), Richmond County (111.
Page 18 and 19: 2. Methods for combating the proble
Page 20 and 21: SUMMARY OF BOARD ACTIVITY ON Septem
Page 22 and 23: DCJS StaffRon DickensVal Friedlande
Page 24 and 25: Western Region AgenciesAmountApplic
Page 26 and 27: VI. 2009 Grant Program Descriptions
Page 28 and 29: According to the New York City Poli
Page 30 and 31: in 2009, an enterprise corruption i
Page 32 and 33: corporation that defrauded the city
Page 34 and 35: In the area of insurance fraud, muc
Page 36 and 37: Despite warnings and public service
Page 38 and 39: Patrol Borough Manhattan North repo
Page 40 and 41: confines of Brooklyn South and the
Page 42 and 43: ecovered with seats, doors, and oth
Page 44 and 45: Borough Queens North are evidenced
Page 46 and 47: FAIS STRATEGIES• Use confidential
Page 48 and 49: motor vehicle insurance fraud are d
Page 50 and 51: investigation and utilized all reso
Page 52 and 53: the help of funding received from o
Page 54 and 55: with investigators from both agenci
Page 56 and 57: offering hands-on demonstrations re
Page 60 and 61: agencies with similar investigation
Page 62 and 63: PD, National Insurance Crime Bureau
Page 64 and 65: Another case that was recently indi
Page 66 and 67: complainant; this is now happening
Page 68 and 69: Niagara Falls City Police Departmen
Page 70 and 71: motor vehicles are assigned to this
Page 72 and 73: The District Attorney’s Office sp
Page 74 and 75: scene; younger suspects would use t
Page 76 and 77: One theft for transportation invest
Page 78 and 79: Rochester Police DepartmentPerforma
Page 80 and 81: Both agencies are continuing the in
Page 82 and 83: November 2009 - A targeted patrol o
Page 84 and 85: where defendants seek specific part
Page 86 and 87: had knowledge that the car was stol
Page 88 and 89: Reported Incidents of Motor Vehicle
Page 90 and 91: Incidence of Motor Vehicle Thefts:
Page 92 and 93: REPORTED MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS: 2008
Page 94 and 95: Motor Vehicle Thefts Rates per Popu
Page 96 and 97: Motor Vehicle Thefts Rates per Regi
Page 98 and 99: Motor Vehicle Insurance Fraud Suspe
Page 100: MVIF 2009 Rate per Population2009Ra
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New York State - Division of Criminal Justice Services

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