It’s not exactly buyer’s remorse — after all, the police reorganization hasn’t happened yet — but some neighborhood leaders are concerned that if the restructuring goes through as proposed, it could damage long-established working relationships. Many neighborhood groups have pushed for changes in policing to improve response times and police-community relations.
The concern is mainly coming from the Southeast neighborhoods that make up Sector 6, which includes Highland, South Wedge, Swillburg, Upper Mt. Hope, and other neighborhoods.
The Rochester Police Department is reorganizing from two full sections — one on each side of the city — and a smaller downtown substation to five sections spread around the city.
Initial plans for the police reorganization were presented in April. The proposed map splits up the Southeast neighborhoods that currently work and plan as the single Sector 6; responsibility for policing the sector would be split among three different police districts.
“There’s a little bit of concern,” says Mike Mahoney, chair of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association. “Over the last 20, 30 years, those neighborhoods have all kind of worked really closely together, have really good relationships with each other. When issues come up, we kind of work together to address them.”
The map makes the South Wedge part of the downtown police district, for example, and puts the Upper Mt. Hope neighborhood in a separate police district with the 19th Ward, the Plymouth-Exchange neighborhood, Bull’s Head, and the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood.
There is confusion and concern, too, over whether the coverage area of the city’s Southeast Neighborhood Service Center would stay as it is or change to conform to the new police districts. Communication could be hindered if the lines don’t match, neighborhood leaders say.
Nancy Johns-Price, administrator of the Southeast Neighborhood Service Center, declined comment on the police reorganization except to say that everyone has to get on board. The NSC administrators will make the new system work, she says, whatever it is.
“That’s what we’ll do, because that’s what we do,” she says.
Mahoney says that, overall, residents are excited and happy about the police reorganization. And he says he’s been told that the new maps are not set in stone.
“They’ve been very open and listened to us,” he says. “So we’re optimistic that something will get worked out.”
Lieutenant Mark Simmons, who is on the reorganization team, says he’s aware of the concerns about coordination of services between the RPD and the Neighborhood Service Centers, and that there are options on the table to address those fears. He declined to discuss those options, however, except to say that the team will try to minimize disruptions caused by the reorganization.
“There’s a little bit of concern. Over the last 20, 30 years, those neighborhoods have all kind of worked really closely together, have really good relationships with each other. When issues come up, we kind of work together to address them.” Mike Mahoney.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2014.
It doesn’t matter how you shuffle the deck. The simple fact is that the Police in Rochester are just not good at community Policing. They for the most part put in what minimal effort as they can. Solving / preventing crime is not a priority amongst the rank and file officers. Getting home to take the kids to soccer practice in Penfield is much more important then doing their jobs. Elmhurst St is one block long and I have never seen a cop drive down it. Ever. In 37 years not once. However on any given day you can find 2/3 RPD cars parked behind School without walls or the Teachers Union building parking lot. Car got broken into? Don’t call the Police, they don’t investigate crime. You have to go to the NET office and report that…… Strange man peeing in your driveway, they don’t have time for that. Kids from the HIgh school hide their weapons in your fence, no time for that. Better to have a eight year old find a gun and bring it home then call the Police, as they don’t have time for that. Neighbor is a peeping Tom and is spying on your 12y/o daughter…. No time for that….. I asked Chief Sheppard to explain the function of the Police to me. Him and Elaine Spaull walked away from me….
I hope Mayor Lovely Warren will rethink her police reorganization plan. We don’t need time and money wasted while community relations continue to deteriorate. It’s disingenuous for the mayor to champion this plan as a cure-all.
Southeast community organizations will fail if policing gets split up as proposed. The mayor and police should be shoring up community groups, not tearing them apart.
What really matters, in my opinion, is where and how tax revenues are spent in Rochester, NY Money spent on controlling crime by police is at the “tail-end”of the system which is very expensive… Courts, attorneys, jails, corrections facilities etc.
Perhaps another way to spend money would be at the beginning of the system through intervention programs like Teen Empowerment and living a moral life. Teen Empowerment is one way to help and the rest is up to proper parenting ( living a moral life… in particular during the summer months. Another way is through a good, solid education. If we focus on these three things then perhaps things will change in Rochester. As well, the final step is being able to earn a living wage. We need jobs in Rochester and we need to repopulate the City with good, solid taxpaying citizens. The population has fallen to 210,000 from just over 300,000 citizens.