Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force still in business

fentanyl in Western New York has led to numerous overdose deaths in Cattaraugus County, the sheriff said. That is what is driving the task force now.

“The Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force has not been disbanded,” Whitcomb said. “Anyone who says otherwise does not know what they are talking about.” that new unit, Whitcomb said. While no longer a formal member, the Olean Police Department continues to cooperate with the county task force. Both agencies continue to call on one another if needed.

Residents need to know “nothing is farther from the truth,” he added. On the contrary, the task force is about to grow bigger.

The Salamanca Police Department officer assigned to the task force has been reassigned to Salamanca and continues to work narcotics.

By Rick Miller

Comments at a recent Salamanca Common Council meeting led to unfounded rumors of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force being disbanded.

Cattaraugus County Sheriff Timothy S. Whitcomb said he has been “putting out fires” over those remarks ever since.

The drug task force is still in business and is still connected with local police departments, state police and law enforcement in other counties, Whitcomb said

Jan. 17. The drug task force has evolved over the more than 30 years it has been in existence, Whitcomb said. At one time it involved full- and part-time officers from several area police departments and the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and Jamestown and Dunkirk police.

The only real change is that task force offices have been moved from Olean to the Sheriff’s Office in Little Valley, Whitcomb pointed out. There is a potential for the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office to again work with the task force as well, he said.

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“We are not cutting any narcotics personnel,” Whitcomb said. “Our commitment at the Sheriff’s Office is still full-heartedly focused on working with multiple law enforcement jurisdictions in the boundaries of Cattaraugus County and outside to pursue illegal drug activity.”

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The Sheriff’s Office is about to involve more members of its Detective Bureau in the task force — and task force members will be available to beef up the detective ranks if necessary, Whitcomb said.

It will be similar to when the Olean Police Department established the Street Crimes Unit and folded its officers from the task force into

That Salamanca officer is another source for the task force and can count on help from task force members, Whitcomb explained.

The sheriff said one of his biggest concerns is that with the state’s cashless bail law, those arrested on drug charges are often back home before police who raided a residence where drugs were being sold.

Just don’t underestimate the sheriff’s office commitment to arresting those who break the law and sell narcotics, Whitcomb said.