FAMILY OFFENSE UNIT
Lt. John Cunningham 716-674-2284
Detective Dennis Bloom
Detective Gary Pauly
The Town of West Seneca Police Department operates a Family Offense Unit as a function of its Detective Division. Lieutenant John Cunningham is in charge of the office and two detectives are assigned to the office on a permanent basis. Detective Dennis Bloom or Lt. Cunningham follow up on all offenses that need investigation and have been committed by persons under the age of 16 years old. These officers also follow up on all offenses committed within the West Seneca School System. Child Abuse and Child Neglect cases are an important area that our Family Offense Unit works on. Detectives from this office follow up on all reports of child abuse and child neglect. They work closely with New York State Child Protection and Erie County Family Court in this area. In addition to these investigations most Missing Person cases are investigated by this office and most matters that need petitioning to Erie County Family Court also are handled by the unit.
Lt. Cunningham is in charge of the West Seneca Youth Court which is utilized for many minor offenses that cannot be sent to the family court system. In order for a case to be sent to the New York State Family Court System the incident must constitute a crime. Many times incidents that consist of only harassment or disorderly behavior need to be addressed. Under New York State Law these cases are not of a criminal level. Our youth court is a venue that can be used to addressed these issues. For more information on our youth court and how it is structured and operated contact us via email at cunningham@wspolice.com.
Detective Bloom in addition to his regular duties in the office is responsible for the supervision of of school programs. Our school programs include DARE and a number of other classroom presentations that are age appropriate for the students to whom they are presented.
Detective Gary Pauly follows up on calls that our department handles that are designated as domestic violence as defined by New York State law. Detective Pauly follows up on these cases to make sure that the victim or victims in these cases receives the services that they need. Detective Pauly will work with the Erie County District Attorney's Office to make sure that cases that need criminal prosecution are documented properly. Detective Pauly also coordinates with Erie County Family Court on cases that the victim wishes to be handled in this venue. In Detective Pauly's absence Lt. Cunningham handles these duties. Detective Pauly also deals with social issues reported to this department that involve the elderly. Detective Pauly works to make sure that any cases of possible elderly abuse or neglect are addressed and the proper government organizations become involved in the matters.
For more information on any of these topics please utilize the links below.