Ronald G. Spike, Sheriff
Howard Davis Jr., Undersheriff
227 Main Street, Penn Yan, NY 14527
315.536.5172
Sheriff Ron Spike has been with the Yates County Sheriff’s Office since 1970. He grew up living in the Sheriff’s residence, attached to the old 1904 county jail as his father George was Sheriff from 1958 to 1981. Upon graduation from Monroe Community College in 1970 Ron was hired as a deputy sheriff and did road and marine patrol and was the first agency youth officer. In 1973, he was promoted to Detective. In 1982, he was promoted to Chief Deputy Sheriff where he supervised the law enforcement bureau and CID. He was first elected Sheriff for a term beginning January 1, 1992 and re-elected eight terms since. He is the current senior Sheriff in NYS.
He has been honored with several awards in his career and was the 1981 New York State Sheriffs’ Association’s Deputy Sheriff of the Year for saving a life in a house fire. Spike has attended numerous training courses, including the 144th session of the FBI National Academy, the National Sheriffs’ Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NYSSA, FLLEA, DCJS, and the Rural Executive Institute. He is a graduate of the Pelletier County Government Institute at Cornell University. Sheriff Spike is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association Institute. He was President of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association (NYSSA) in 2000 and continues as a Life Member. He represents NYSSA on the Executive Board of Directors for the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) and is a member of the Youth Committee as Vice Chair, theStandards/Ethics/Training,Global Affairs, and Court Security/Civil Committees at the NSA.. Sheriff Spike, a certified Police Instructor has held four Governors appointments on the NYS Municipal Police Training Council since 1997 and is the current Chairman. He also Chairs the Public Safety Committee for NYSAC.
He is active in the Yates County community with several agencies and boards. He is a member of the United Methodist Church, and is Past President and current Secretary of the Penn Yan Lions Club where he has been honored as a Melvin Jones Fellow. Although a non-Rotarian, he has been honored by them as a Paul Harris Fellow, their highest community service award. He received the NYS Sheriff Grover Cleveland Award in 2015 for his dedication to the Office of Sheriff.
Yates County is home to the NYS Sheriffs’ Summer Camp on Keuka Lake, and has a population of 33,000 which doubles during the summer, and an area of 334 miles with 64 miles of shoreline on three Finger Lakes.