Rochester has struggled with violence for the past year. While this spike in crime aligns with nationwide trends, it’s clear that we need solutions. Our city can, and should serve as an example of the need for an innovative approach to addressing the root causes of crime. Without a holistic response, we are destined to see little change. I am committed to continue investing in violence prevention services, and efforts to rid our streets of illegal guns.
However, we must recognize that policing alone can not, and must not be the solution to all of our community’s struggles. For far too long, we’ve addressed mental health crises and issues of poverty with a law enforcement response. This is simply not fair to our community members, or the officers entrusted to serve our cities and towns. Officers are being stretched thin, and asked to provide support at a level that is beyond reasonable for their role. Community members in need of social or mental health services shouldn’t be met with an armed response. We must remove these types of calls from the purview of law enforcement, and shift response to our Forensic Intervention (FIT) and Person in Crisis (PIC) teams to address issues within Monroe County and the City of Rochester, respectively.