So Schenectady County has a new SPCA, and the head of it is a state-certified “peace officer” with powers that perhaps not everyone understands, powers that parallel those of a policeman.

It’s a situation unique to New York, as far as I can determine, this conferring of what amounts to police powers on representatives of a private non-profit organization, which is what an SPCA is. A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Such a “peace officer” needs state-approved training, but having gotten that training, he or she then operates independently, not beholden to any city council, county legislature, mayor, or public safety commissioner, much less to the voters.

He or she can carry a gun, make arrests, conduct searches, and even use deadly force.

The founder of Schenectady’s new SPCA is a lawyer, Matthew B. Tulley, who lives in Niskayuna and brings with him experience from Long Island.

He promises not to be confrontational like the SPCA of Upstate New York, based near Glens Falls, but more like a social worker, helping people who try to care for animals, but he also says he will be investigating reports of dog fights and cockfights, of which there is an extremely scanty history in Schenectady County.

For more, see my column in today's (Thursday's) Daily Gazette.