City of Rochester
News Release
(Friday, May 2, 2014) – Mayor Lovely A. Warren and Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli announced the schedule of community input meetings to discuss the proposed, new five-section policing model and ways the Rochester Police Department can create stronger relationships within the community. One meeting will be held in each of the proposed new sections.
The meetings will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and are scheduled as follows:
• Tuesday, May 6: Thomas P. Ryan Community Center, 530 Webster Ave.
• Tuesday, May 13: Staybridge Suites, 1000 Genesee St.
• Thursday, May 15: RPD Patrol Division East Office, 630 North Clinton Ave.
• Tuesday, May 20: Public Safety Building auditorium, 185 Exchange Blvd.
• Thursday, May 22: Aquinas High School, 1127 Dewey Ave.
Those who are unable to attend the community meetings may provide input at the City’s website at www.cityofrochester.gov/RPDreorganization. The RPD will create a video in both English and Spanish answering frequently asked questions that will be posted to the City’s YouTube channel and aired on City 12 TV.
“The primary goals of the reorganization are to create a closer and more harmonious relationship between the community and the Rochester Police Department,” said Mayor Warren. “I want to achieve a more effective policing model overall based on both the expressed desires of the community for neighborhood policing, as well as an internal push from the rank and file officers to return to single car beats.”
“The new, five patrol-section plan has been structured to maintain neighborhood identity and balance workload,” said Chief Ciminelli.
Under the new model, the RPD’s Center City Section would extend beyond the traditional boundaries of Downtown to include the Corn Hill, South Wedge and Wadsworth Square residential neighborhoods, the East End and Brown Square entertainment districts and the High Falls Business District. Two sections would be located entirely on the east side of the Genesee River and would be divided along a north-south axis, primarily along North Goodman Street.
The two remaining sections would primarily be on the west side of the river, separated by Interstate 490. The southern section will span the Genesee River to include all of Genesee Valley Park and the University of Rochester campuses.
“The new model is the result of extensive analysis of data over the last five years under the current two-section patrol structure, taking into account the number of calls generated in each area of the city, average drive time spent responding to calls for service, the population density of neighborhoods, responding to calls, geographic area, and the length of city streets in each section,” said Chief Ciminelli. “When complete, the new plan will feature similar beat and staffing structures across all districts; and will allow for flexibility in staffing for community engagement, proactive policing and improved community/police relations.”
Last month, the Mayor approved the preliminary plan for a phased-in “reorganization in place” five-section model to begin implementation in fiscal year 2014/15.
Visit www.cityofrochester.gov/RPDreorganization to learn more about the plan and follow its progress.
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News Media: For more information, contact Communications Director Christine Christopher at 428-7135.