News Release - Mayor Warren and Chief Ciminelli Unveil Detailed RPD Reorganization Plan

City of Rochester

News Release

(Friday, Aug. 1, 2014) – Mayor Lovely Warren and Police Chief Michael Ciminelli released the Rochester Police Department (RPD) Reorganization Plan today, which will transition the Rochester Police Department to a five-section patrol model, and enable officers to actively engage the community to make neighborhoods safe.

The RPD is scheduled to begin operations under the new model March 30, 2015.

“I want to thank Chief Ciminelli and his team for developing this excellent model to reorganize the Rochester Police Department and help our officers return to true community policing,” said Mayor Warren. “I also want to thank the many community leaders and neighborhood residents who participated in the public-input phase of this plan. Their feedback helped us make it even better.”

“I am excited to reach this important milestone in the RPD reorganization project,” said Chief Ciminelli. “This plan represents the excellent work of the men and women of the RPD, the Mayor’s Senior Management Team, and many members of the community. We look forward to continuing to work with all our partners to make this vision a reality.”
The plan released today expounds on the proposal unveiled in April, providing such details as the cost of the plan, the borders of the patrol sections and the number of officers assigned to each area of the city.

The Reorganization Plan was modified as a result of feedback gathered online and during a series of neighborhood meetings in May. For instance, the boundaries of the southeastern patrol section were altered in response to input received from community members.

In response to community input regarding the coordination of the RPD and the City’s Neighborhood Service Centers (NSC), RPD has engaged the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development to develop a new alignment for the NSC service areas. The proposed new alignment will be submitted to the Mayor in October.

The five-section model will replace the two-division model that had been in place since 2004. That model had replaced a seven-section model that had been in place for many decades. The decision to return to a section model has proven to be widely favored among neighborhood residents and officers.

In a nod to the historical significance and sense of pride associated with the old Patrol Sections – which tended to be named after major streets within the boundaries – the new model will restore four of the old section names: Lake Section in Northwest; Genesee Section in the Southwest; Goodman Section in the Southeast and Clinton Section in the Northeast. Central Section will patrol Downtown and some of adjacent neighborhoods.

Other highlights of the new model include:

  • Each section will be commanded by a Captain, who will be identified prior to the reorganization to assist with the transition.
  • The five sections will be organized into a total of 37 patrol beats, up from the 22 Police Service Areas (PSAs) in the current two-division structure. This reduces the average size of each patrol area by about 40 percent.
  • The staffing model is roughly equivalent to the current model in terms of the number of officers assigned to each part of the city.
  • RPD will develop performance measures by November to enable continuous evaluation and modifications to the new patrol model.
  • RPD will continue to “reorganize in place,” by initially working out of its current three police patrol facilities at 1099 Jay St. (Lake and Genesee sections), 630 N. Clinton Ave. (Clinton and Goodman Sections), and the Sibley Building at 30 N. Clinton Ave (Central Section). Using the existing facilities will allow the RPD to continue to evaluate and modify the beat structure and amortize its previous capital investments in the facilities.
  • The estimated ongoing additional cost to RPD’s operational budget commencing in FY 2015-16 is $326,280 annually. This constitutes an increase of about one-third of one percent (0.38%) of RPD’s annual operating budget.
  • A new series of community meetings will be held in each of the new sections once the Captains are identified.

To learn more, visit www.cityofrochester.gov/rpdreorganization. -30-

News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo at 428-7135.