Sheriff’s open house Sunday: jail tours, ‘drunk buggy’ rides, equipment and history on display

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office open house scheduled for Sunday will have a few added elements since last year’s event, the agency’s first.

“This year we’re really showing off our history,” Sheriff Vincent DeMarco said yesterday. “We’re the oldest law enforcement agency in the county, one of the oldest in New York State, and we’re proud of that. You see with the old stuff and the new stuff how far we’ve come.”

DeMarco flipped through an Islip court docket circa 1922-23 that will be on display. Most defendants were charged during summer months and faced fines of between $5 and $15.

Artifacts including old radios, batons, key rings and photographs bring some of the agency’s past to life, like a shot of one sheriff hanging out, sullen-faced, behind a bar in a “relaxation room.” Also on display will be mugshots of some of the county’s more notorious criminals, like serial killer Joel Rifkin.

The event, running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., marks Sheriff’s Week, in recognition of departments across the nation. DeMarco said the open house is a time for his staff and their families to celebrate what they do, and for the public to see how their tax dollars are being spent and how the department works.

Turnout was good last year, he said. Some of the more popular features were the canine and bike safety demonstrations, and the “Drunk Buggy,” which allows teenagers to drive go-cart-style through a course of cones wearing special goggles that simulate different blood-alcohol levels.

Jail tours will be open to visitors 12 and older. Every piece of equipment not in use will be on display in the parking lot, DeMarco said.

“The kids absolutely loved it,” he said of last year’s event. “They were climbing on the boats, the amphibious vehicle…a lot of the adults were surprised at the range of things we do.”

Another benefit of the day will be promotion of the Sheriff Office’s programs. The Yellow Dot program provides yellow stickers for car windows, letting emergency workers know there is a yellow form inside the vehicle with the driver’s identification, family and doctor contact numbers and other information useful in the event of an emergency. Free home drug tests and alcohol tests will be available for parents.

With showers possible Sunday, DeMarco said the parking lot’s solar canopies can provide cover in case of rain.