NORWICH – It was a year of change in the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office as Ernest R. Cutting Jr. took the reins from former Sheriff Thomas Loughren.

But, in his annual report before the Chenango County Board of Supervisors on June 14, Sheriff Cutting said he and his staff of 23 full time, sworn in deputies “never wavered in keeping Chenango County a safe place to live, work and play.”

There were 33,676 calls for police service last year, of which the Sheriff’s Office handled 17,653. New York State Police answered 7,671 of them, with the remainder answered by various municipal departments throughout the county. Sheriff’s deputies made 1,291 criminal arrests, 265 felony, 529 misdemeanor and 70 DWIs.

In addition, there were 299 responses to domestic-related incidents, 581 accidents investigated, and 2,106 traffic tickets issued.

The Sheriff’s Office continues to see increases in major crimes and demand for law enforcement services. Drugs continued to plague Chenango County last year, particularly with the return of heroin as the predominate drug of choice. In 2009, the largest marijuana growing operations in recent history was located and seized.

Cutting said there are 149 sex offenders in Chenango County under supervision.