gift °* ^oc*lester Lovely A.

Warren
city Hall Room 308A, 30 Church Street Mayor
Rochester, New York 14614-1290
www.cityofrochester.gov INTRODUCTORY NO.

lib

March 25, 2021

TO THE COUNCIL

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Re: Statement of Necessity:

This statement of Necessity is being submitted so that action may be taken during the Special Council
Meeting on Monday, March 29, 2021 at 4:00 pm. The agenda for the meeting shall be to consider a
resolution relating to the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan for the City of Rochester pursuant
to Governor’s Executive Order 203

According to Governor’s Executive Order 203, the Plan for Police Reform has to be adopted and submitted to
the State no later than April 1,2021.

Respectfully submitted,

Lovely A. Warren Loretta C. Scott

Mayor President

Phone: 585.428.7045 Fax: 585.428.6059 TTY: 585.428.6054 EEO/ADA Employer

 City of Rochester Lovely A. Warren

w City Hall Room 308A, 30 Church Street Mayor

Rochester, New York 14614-1290
www.cityofrochester.gov
INTRODUCTORY NO.
I I (o
March 25, 2021
TO THE COUNCIL

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Re: Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative
Plan; Governor’s Executive Order 203

Council Priority: Public Safety

Enclosed for your approval is legislation that ratifies and adopts a Police Reform and
Reinvention Collaborative Plan for the City of Rochester (the Plan). The Plan has been
prepared in accordance with Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 203 issued last June, which
requires all localities with police agencies to prepare and adopt a policing reform plan that will
maintain public safety while building mutual trust and respect between police agencies and the
communities they serve.

As summarized in the resolution, the Plan has been developed over the course of several
months through a thorough and transparent community engagement process involving a diverse
range of stakeholders.

The Plan is contained in Section VII of the City of Rochester Community Response to Governor
Cuomo’s Executive Order 203: Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative (Report), which
accompanies the resolution. The Plan is one more step in a process that will require continued
community effort. It will take time and sustained focus to change systemic inequities that have
existed for decades while balancing the need for public safety.

Respectfully submitted

Lovely A. Warren o
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Phone: 585.428.7045 Fax: 585.428.6059 TTY: 585.428.6054 EEO/ADA Employer
 INTRODUCTORY NO.
HU? Resolution No.
Resolution ratifying and adopting a Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative
Plan for the City of Rochester
WHEREAS, on June 12, 2020, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed Executive
Order 203 (Order) establishing the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention
Collaborative (the Collaborative), which requires each local government that has a
police agency to prepare and adopt by no later than April 1,2021 a policing reform plan
that will maintain public safety while building mutual trust and respect between police
and the communities they serve (Collaborative Plan or Plan);
WHEREAS, the Order requires the Collaborative Plan to be developed through
an open and transparent community engagement process involving a diverse range of
stakeholders, including but not limited to members and leaders of the local police force,
members of the community, with an emphasis in areas with high numbers of police and
community interactions, interested non-profit and faith-based community group, the
local district attorney, the local public defender; and local elected officials;
WHEREAS, the City of Rochester (City) has engaged in a thorough and intensive
community engagement process to develop its Collaborative Plan, as summarized
herein;
WHEREAS, in October 2020, the City issued a citywide online survey entitled
“Policing in Rochester,” and received 3,223 responses by the time the survey was
closed on October 29, 2020;
WHEREAS, the Mayor convened a working group consisting of members of City
staff, City Council, the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity (RASE), the United
Christian Leadership Ministry (UCLM) and the Police Accountability Board (PAB) to
guide the City’s preparation of the Plan (Work Group);
WHEREAS, at the Mayor’s request, each of the stakeholders in the Work Group
prepared answers to a list of questions as suggested in a Collaborative guidance
workbook for localities prepared by the State;
WHEREAS, from August 2020 through February 2021, the Work Group hosted
or participated in over 48 Collaborative community engagement events, including public
meetings, hearings and rallies, radio programs, webinars, focus groups, and the
creation and continuous updating of a Collaborative portal on the City website
(Collaborative Portal);
WHEREAS, on February 4, 2021, the Mayor released a preliminary draft of the
Plan that was included within a Community Response report for the Collaborative
(Report) and that draft Report and Plan was widely publicized and circulated for review
and input during a public comment period that extended through March 4;
 WHEREAS, the City received several hundred comments on the draft Plan,
which are listed in Appendix G to the Final Report;

WHEREAS, the Plan was modified in response to the comments and a

subsequent draft of the Report and Plan was released to Council and the public on
March 12, 2021;

WHEREAS, the Council reviewed and solicited additional public input on the Plan
in work sessions held March 15 and March 22 and in public forums held on March 17
and 18 and all four of these meetings were streamed live on the City’s Facebook and
YouTube pages;

WHEREAS, after the conclusion of the four meetings, Council suggested and the
Mayor agreed to additional modifications to the Plan, which are incorporated into the
Final Report that accompanies this resolution;

WHEREAS, the Plan is contained in Section VII of the Final Report and consists
of recommendations with regard to: A. Accountability; B. Community Engagement and
Programming; C. Data, Technology and Transparency; D. Fostering a Community-
oriented Culture; E. Officer Wellness; F. Police Policy, Strategies, and Practices; G.
Resizing the RPD; H. Response to Mental Health Calls; I. RPD Recruitment; J. Training;
and K. Violence Prevention;

WHEREAS, in accordance with the Order, the rest of the Final Report documents
and summarizes in its main text and appendices the “comprehensive review of current
police force deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, and practices” that informed
the development of the Plan;

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council acknowledge that the adoption and submittal
of the Collaborative Plan to the State by the Order’s April 1 deadline means that the
Plan will be just one more step in a process that will take time and sustained community
engagement and focus to change decades-old systematic problems while balancing the
need for public safety and the professional and equitable application of policing.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the City of Rochester

as follows:

Section 1. The City Council hereby ratifies and adopts the recommendations
contained in Section VII of the City of Rochester Community Response to Governor
Cuomo’s Executive Order 203: Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative dated
March 25, 2021, as the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan of the City of
Rochester (Collaborative Plan) in accordance with Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order
203, New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, dated June 12,
2021 (the Order).

Section 2. The City Council hereby consents to the Mayor submitting to the
Director of the New York State Division of the Budget this resolution, the approved
Collaborative Plan and a certification affirming that said Plan has been developed and is
submitted in compliance with the Order.
Section 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
 City of Rochester
Response to Governor Cuomo's Executive
Order 203:
Police Reform
and Reinvention Collaborative

FINAL

March 25, 2021

*
 Acknowledgements

Working Group Representatives

Mayor Lovely Warren

Vice President Willie Lightfoot, City Council

Councilman Miguel Melendez, Jr., City Council

Interim Rochester Chief of Police Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan and Members of the Command

Team

Reverend Lewis Stewart, President, United Christian Leadership Ministry

Deputy Chief Wayne Harris (Retired), RASE Commission Co-Chair, Policing Working Group

Shani Wilson, Chair, Police Accountability Board,

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP assisted the Working Group and contributed
content)
Table of Contents
I. Introduction.................. 2

II. Public Engagement................................................................................................................................................ 3

III. Rochester Police Department (RPD) Overview.............................................................................................. 4
A. RPD Organization.............................................................................................................................................. 4
1. Current Staffing and Organization........................................................................................................... 4
2. Physical Location of Police Facilities........................................................................................................ 7
3. Staffing levels compared to other cities.................................... *........................................................... 9
B. RPD Budget Summary..................................................................................................................................... 10
C. Recent Staff/Budgetary Changes in Response to Current Events........................................................ 10
D. The Role of the RPD in Rochester Today.................................................................................................... 10
1. Summary of Crime Trends.......................................................................................................................... 10
2. Summary Calls for Service Trends............................................................................................................ 11
3. RPD Community Programming................................................................................................................. 12
E. Inventory and Assessment of RPD Law Enforcement Practices and Strategies................................. 14
1. Response to Psychiatric calls.................................................................................................................... 14
2. Crowd control.............................................................................................................................................. 15
3. Police in Schools......................................................................................................................................... 16
4. Practices and strategies that may pose an undue risk of harm to the public.............................. 16
5. Practices and strategies that are recognized as reducing racial disparities and building trust 20
6. Practices and strategies for effectively responding to hate crimes................................................ 22
F. Implementation of "Procedural Justice" in RPD Functions.................................................................... 23
G. Community Engagement Techniques/Strategies as Applied to RPD................................................... 24
1. Community organizations, advisory boards, and committees......................................................... 24
2. Police-community reconciliation............................................................................................................ 24
3. Attention to marginalized communities................................................................................................ 24
4. Partnering with students and schools................................................................................................... 25
5. Involving youth in discussions on the role of law enforcement agencies.................................... 25
6. Officer training programs that reflect community values and build trust................................... 25
IV. RPD Community-Oriented Leadership, Culture and Accountability...................................................... 25
A. Community-oriented Culture in the RPD.................................................................................................. 25
B. Managing Biases in the RPD.......................................................................................................................... 26
 C. Leadership Training.......................................................................................... 27
D. Accountability................................................................................................... 27
1. Identifying, Reviewing, and Tracking Use of Force and Misconduct 28
2. Transparency................................................................................................ 29
3. Citizen Oversight and Other External Accountability.......................... 30
V. Data, Technology and Transparency................................................................ 30
A. Open Data.......................................................................................................... 31
B. Automated Systems and Technologies........................................................ 32
1. Technology Procurement and Maintenance........................................ 32
2. Transparency and Information Management/Protection................. 32
C. Body-Worn Cameras........................................................................................ 33
VI. Recruiting and Supporting Excellent Personnel........................................... 34
A. Recruiting a Diverse Workforce.................................................................... 34
B. Supporting Officer Wellness and Well-being............................................ 35
VII. Reform Recommendations.............................................................................. 35
A. Accountability..................................................... 35

B. Community Engagement and Programming 36

C. Data, Technology and Transparency............. 37

D. Fostering a Community-oriented Culture ... 41

E. Officer Wellness................................................. 41
F. Police Policy, Strategies, and Practices 43

G. Resizing the RPD...................................... 47

H. Response to Mental Health Calls.......... 48

I. RPD Recruitment............................... ...... 49

J. Training.... 49

VIII. Conclusion 52

Appendices:
Appendix A List of Public Engagement Activities
Appendix B RPD Violence Reduction Plan
Appendix C Reports provided by the Police Accountability Board
Appendix D Reports provided by the United Christian Leadership Ministry
Appendix E Report provided by the RASE Commission Police Working Group (forthcoming)
Appendix F New Policing Blueprint proposal from the Pastor's Roundtable
Appendix G Comments received on the February 4, 2021 Draft
Appendix H Monroe County Public Defender's Office, Executive Order 203 Report, March 1, 2021
Appendix I Monroe County Alliance for the Transformation of Community & Police, Police Reform
Report, February 2021
Appendix J Telephone Town Hall Meeting Report
Appendix K Selected Studies, Reports and Relevant Policies from WilmerHale
I. Introduction
As stated by Governor Cuomo, "Maintaining public safety is imperative; it is one of the essential roles of
government. In order to achieve that goal, there must be mutual trust and respect between police and the
communities they serve. The success and safety of our society depends on restoring and strengthening
mutual trust. With crime growing in many cities, we must seize this moment of crisis and turn it into an
opportunity for transformation." With that said, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 203, requiring each
local government with a police force in New York State to adopt a policing reform plan by April 1, 2021. The
Order authorizes the Director of the Division of the Budget to condition state aid on the adoption of such a
plan.

To bring together all of the work currently being advanced in the city of Rochester around police reform,
Mayor Lovely Warren formed a working group comprising representation from key groups involved in this
work, including:

The Commission on Racial and Structural Equity (RASE)

The United Christian Leadership Ministry (UCLM)
The Police Accountability Board (PAB)
City Council
The Mayor's Office
Rochester Police Department (RPD)

The working group met regularly to collaborate and bring in content that is relevant to the Governor's
Executive Order and the subsequently released New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative
Resources and Guide for Public Officials and Citizens provided in August 2020.

This plan is the response to Executive Order 203 and the next critical step in Rochester's efforts to rethink
policing in the community.1 While much has been accomplished, there is still more to be studied and
implemented after this report has been delivered. For instance, the RASE Commission is not scheduled to
complete its final list of recommendations until the end of February 2021. Their input into this process has
been largely informal while awaiting the final recommendations. In addition, the City of Rochester engaged
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP on November 20, 2020 to advise the City on reforms to the
Rochester Police Department. They are a nationally recognized expert on police reform. Specifically, the City
engaged WilmerHale to:

Review RPD's policies, procedures and trainings relative to: (i) use of force; (ii) de-escalation of critical
incidents; (iii) use of body worn cameras; and (iv) responding to mental health related calls for
assistance;
Make recommendations for necessary changes;
Assess and make recommendations for changes and enhancements to RPD's training program on
uses of force, de-escalation, and responding to those experiencing mental health issues; and
Hold interviews with key community stakeholders and RPD personnel to ensure that the review takes
into account differing perspectives.

WilmerHale provided preliminary findings and recommendations to help inform the City's efforts to prepare
the submission required by Executive Order 203. Their work, however, is ongoing and will provide further
guidance in the coming months.

1 The Police Accountability Board is committed to providing full transparency over all of the RPD's work. The Board will,
in its future work, review the accuracy of the information provided by the RPD in this report.
2
II. Public Engagement
Through the collaboration of the working group and further community engagement, the contents of this
plan reflect the Rochester community's goals for reform. Involving representation from the following groups
was instrumental in creating a broadly representative community plan.

© In June 2020, The Mayor and County Executive announced the creation of the Commission on Racial
and Structural Equity (RASE) whose mission includes examining and developing policies and
legislation to overcome systemic and institutional inequities among many subject areas, including
policing policies and other related systems. The RASE Commission members and subcommittee
members include many people from the community. The Commission maintains a Facebook
presence, conducted several community meetings and webinars, and delivered several surveys to
gather necessary input to inform their work.
© In early 2020, the City created the Police Accountability Board (PAB) dedicated to helping
Rochesterians reimagine public safety by "ensur[ing] public accountability and transparency over the
powers exercised by sworn officers of the Rochester Police Department." The Board comprises nine
city residents and full-time staff. The PAB engaged the community in the content that they provided
for this report.
© Formed in 2013, UCLM is an ecumenical coalition of religious and civic institutions, headed by the
Rev. Lewis Stewart to create a movement for justice and revolutionary community transformation.
They work closely with community partners on criminal justice issues, especially those affecting
people of color. Those issues include: effectively advocating for policy changes; improving
community-police relations; advocating for individuals abused by police; and, working to reduce gun
violence. The United Christian Leadership Ministry (UCLM) contributed content.

Additionally, the Mayor issued a citywide online survey, "Policing in Rochester," in October 2020 and
received 3,223 responses by the time it closed on October 29, 2020. Results are as follows:

Of the total responses, 2,041 (63.3%) were from city residents.

Three-quarters of city resident respondents (75%) said they support Community Policing. Only 14% of
city resident respondents said that they do not support Community Policing.
60% of city resident responses said they support having Crisis Intervention Services respond to
mental health and addiction-related 911 calls instead of Police. This was double the rate of city
resident responses that said they support having Police respond to these kinds of calls (30%).
More than half of city resident responses (56%) indicated that they think new policing policies,
training, general orders, and internal regulations (per the Governor's Executive Order) should be
developed in conjunction with independent experts.
Just over half of city resident respondents (52%) said that they do not believe that the City can
conduct a thorough review of the RPD internally or locally without outside assistance. The results
showed strong support for using independent experts (56%) and outside organizations (52%),
including community groups and the Police Accountability Board, to assist City Hall in its efforts to
respond to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Executive Order.
More than half of city resident respondents (55%) said that they support the City providing Interim
Police Chief Herriott-Sullivan with the resources she needs to build police community relations,
including working with the community, police employees, and other interested parties. Less than one
quarter of city resident respondents (23%) said that they do not support the City providing Interim
Police Chief Herriott-Sullivan with these resources.
45% of city resident respondents said that they do not believe that Community Policing can be
achieved without having specific municipal buildings in neighborhoods that are dedicated to policing
efforts and other neighborhoods initiatives. 35% of city resident respondents said that they do
3
 believe that Community Policing could be achieved without specific municipal buildings in
neighborhoods that are dedicated to policing and neighborhood initiatives.

A preliminary draft of this plan was released February 4, 2021. The community was provided with an
opportunity to comment on the plan through March 4, 2021. Several hundred comments were received and
can be seen in the spreadsheet included as Appendix G. Some comments prompted a change to the Plan and
other comments will inform the decision-making process and Plan implementation. On March 12, the Plan
moves into the City Council adoption process which also involves community input.

For a complete list of community engagement to date, please see Appendix A. For reports that informed the
content of this plan, see Appendices B-K.

III. Rochester Police Department (RPD) Overview

The RPD serves over 210,000 City of Rochester residents and thousands of others who work, shop, do
business, and attend special events in the City. Rochester's police officers patrol a total geographical area of
approximately 37 square miles located within the County of Monroe. The RPD was officially founded in 1819,
marking its 200th Anniversary in 2019. The Rochester Police Department is accredited by the New York State
Law Enforcement Accreditation Program, which was established in 1989 through Article 36, §846-h of the
New York State Executive Law. The accreditation program is overseen by the New York State Division of
Criminal Justice Services and operates on a 5-year renewal plan. The RPD was most recently reaccredited in
the spring of 2020.

The stated mission of the RPD is "To Reduce Crime, to Protect and Serve the Citizens of Rochester, and to
uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York." The RPD service
motto is "Serving with PRIDE - Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Dedication, and Excellence."

A. RPD Organization

1. Current Staffing and Organization

The RPD staff currently includes 724 sworn positions and 126 civilian positions (see Table 1), divided into four
areas of responsibility, including the Office of the Chief, the Operations Bureau, the Administration Bureau,
and the Community Affairs Bureau.

a. Office of the Chief

The Office of the Chief is responsible for planning, staffing, directing, coordinating and controlling all
Departmental functions. It coordinates and oversees the budgeting and operational and/or
administrative functions of the Department. The office is responsible for maintaining positive morale
and discipline, and maintaining an effective system of liaisons and an awareness of neighborhood
police concerns, priorities and needs of citizens and groups affected by the RPD.

The Office includes the Professional Standards Section (PSS) which is responsible for investigating
complaints of police actions or misconduct originating from any source, conducting civil claim
investigations for the Corporation Counsel, the administrative review of fleet vehicle accident
investigations and conducting other investigations as directed by the Chief of Police. PSS is also
responsible for the maintenance of the Department's official disciplinary records.

The Office of Business Intelligence (OBI) is responsible for strategic planning and product
development, data analysis, business process improvements, data transparency and major
Departmental projects as designated by the Chief of Police.

4
b. The Operations Bureau
The Operations Bureau is responsible for providing direct police services to the public, including the
protection of life and property, protection of the constitutional guarantees of all people, reduction of
opportunities for the commission of crime, resolution of conflict, identification of criminal offenders
and criminal activity, and apprehension of offenders.

The Operations Bureau consists of the Patrol Division and is responsible for providing general police
services throughout the City of Rochester. City Patrol Divisions are composed of five geographical
patrol sections: Lake, Genesee, Goodman, Clinton, and Central. This is also the Bureau and houses
the Special Operations Division, Special Events, and Animal Services.

The Bureau includes the Special Operations Division (SOD) which is responsible for conducting
specified investigations and providing investigative support services necessary for the effective
operation of the Department. This is the Bureau responsible for the Body-Worn Camera Program.
SOD is responsible for the suppression of organized crime, illegal drug trafficking, other vice-related
activity and other criminal investigations. It also includes the tactical unit, K-9 unit, Traffic
Enforcement Unit, Mounted Unit, Bomb Squad, Crisis Negotiation Team, Mobile Field Force, Scuba
Squad, Special Weapons and Tactics Team, the Crime Research Unit, and the Special Events Section.

The Special Events Section of the Bureau is responsible for assessing logistical requirements, traffic
and crowd control plans, identifying potential problems and developing contingency plans as needed
in the coordination and direct supervision in the multitude of community events held in Rochester
each year. The Animal Services operates the City Animal Shelter, answers calls dispatched through
911, provides community outreach by connecting with pet owners in Rochester neighborhoods, and
facilitates animal adoptions.

c. The Administration Bureau

The Administration Bureau is responsible for providing the administrative support services necessary
for the effective operation of the RPD and is responsible for managing RPD resources. The head of
this Bureau works closely with the City of Rochester's Department of Fluman Resource Management
in personnel matters, including employee hiring and promotion, Labor Relations (which maintains
grievance records) and labor unions representing RPD employees in labor matters. The Bureau head
is the liaison for building maintenance and improvement, and utility services and oversees the Officer
Assistance Program for crisis intervention and stress counseling services for RPD officers and their
families. The Administration Bureau contains a Professional Development Section (including the RPD
Background Unit and Volunteer Services Unit), Technical Services Section, Research and Evaluation
Section, and Personnel and Budget offices.

The Professional Development Section (PDS) develops, coordinates, and administers RPD In-Service
and Recruit Training programs, along with Firearms and Defensive Tactics training. PDS includes
Volunteer Services, responsible for background assistance, assigning civilian volunteers, and
maintaining and monitoring a variety of programs within the RPD. PDS works in conjunction with the
Monroe County Public Safety Training Facility for recruit and advanced training programs. The
Citizen's Police Academy (CPA) is also coordinated by PDS. The CPA is a 10-week program held once a
year with an average class of 20-25 attendees. Academy classes take place over 10 consecutive
weeknights from 6 PM to 9 PM and is designed to provide a broad-based look at the policies,
procedures and operations of the RPD.

5
 The Technical Services Section (TSS) is responsible for providing technical support to field personnel
and public access to RPD records. TSS coordinates fleet vehicle purchasing and maintenance. TSS
includes Headquarters and Records, Juvenile Records, Identification, Warrants, Court Liaison, Call
Reduction, Property Clerk, Firearms Investigations, Quartermaster and Auto Pound, as well as the
Police Overt Digital Surveillance System (PODSS)/Anti-Violence Cameras.

The Research and Evaluation Section (R&E) is responsible for developing, revising, and maintaining
RPD policies and procedures, including Administrative and General Orders. R&E is liaison to the
Monroe County Office of Emergency Preparedness and coordinates the development of policies and
procedures in emergency responses involving the RPD and outside agencies. R&E is responsible for
managing special projects and experimental programs, such as research, procurement and
administration of grant funding and assessing compliance with RPD rules, regulations and directives.
R&E develops analytic and status reports, coordinates staff and field inspections, evaluates
compliance with directives, plans and regulations, and coordinates the testing of new products,
equipment and technologies for Departmental use. R&E prepares status reports and
recommendations regarding the administration and operation of the RPD and oversees RPD
compliance with the NYS Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.

The police Personnel Office is responsible for maintaining RPD personnel and payroll records,
including RPD hiring procedures. The police Budget Office is responsible for overseeing RPD
purchasing and accounting procedures and monitoring RPD revenues and expenditures.

d. Community Affairs Bureau

The Community Affairs Bureau coordinates all communications, public information, and community
engagement initiatives. This Bureau includes the Recruitment Unit and Community Policing Unit,
which includes the Neighborhood Service Centers (NSC) and Crime Prevention Officers (CPOs).
Typical work activities include:

Directing change management initiatives and developing strategies related to

communications and community engagement;
Appraising local and national law enforcement issues related to community relations and
recommending suitable solutions;
Implementing new programs, procedures and policies designed to improve the community's
perception and appreciation for the RPD;
Meeting with community, business, educational, human service and civic action groups
regarding their interaction with the RPD;
Representing the RPD to various groups concerned with intergovernmental law enforcement
affairs;
Researching, developing and implementing effective communication tools to work with the
diverse populations the RPD serves;
Identifying need, leading development and implementing progressive police training and
mentoring programs;
Maintaining productive alliances with professional police agencies and other authorities;
Representing the RPD before City Council, the County Legislature and other official entities;
Serving as the RPD's Chief Recruitment Officer and directing the Recruitment Unit and overall
recruitment efforts to solicit and encourage prospective Police Officer candidates to seek
employment with the RPD;
• Serving as the RPD's Chief Public Information Officer (PIO) and directing personnel in
performing public information duties;

6
 ® Serving as the RPD's Chief Community Affairs Officer, overseeing the City's Neighborhood
Service Centers; and
• Directing and coordinating all RPD activities related to social media initiatives.

Table 1

RPD Staff 20/21 Budget2

Chief 1
Executive Deputy Chief 0
Deputy Chief 3
Commander 3
Captain 13
Lieutenant 31
Sergeant 93
Investigator 81
Patrol Officer 499
Sworn- Total 724
Civilian 126
Grand Total 850

2. Physical Location of Police Facilities

Rochester's Police Officers operate under a neighborhood-based, five-Section patrol model with officers
assigned to neighborhood beats to engage in community policing initiatives. The five Sections are Lake,
Genesee, Goodman, Clinton, and Central. The RPD Patrol Division currently works out of three Section Offices
located at:

® 1099 Jay Street (Lake and Genesee Sections)

® 630 N. Clinton Avenue (Clinton and Goodman Sections)
© Sibley Building, 30 N. Clinton Avenue (Central Section)

Staff in the RPD Recruitment and Community Policing Unit which is part of the Community Affairs Bureau
includes Crime Prevention Officers assigned to Section Offices and Neighborhood Service Centers. All RPD
facilities, locations, and number of sworn officers working at each location is summarized in Table 2 below.

2 In October 2020 the 20/21 budget was restructured to eliminate one deputy chief position and add an Executive
Deputy Chief.
7
Table 2

Approximate Number of Sworn

Facility Location Officers (including Supervisors)3

1099 Jay St. Bldg D 186

(Lake and Genesee Section)

1190 Scottsville Rd 4

(Public Safety Training Center)

185 Exchange Blvd 137

(Public Safety Building)

261 Child St. 62

(Special Operations/Tactical)

30 N. Clinton Ave. 62

(Central Section)

320 N. Goodman #309 5

(Goodman Community Affairs)

500 Norton St. 5

(Clinton Community Affairs)

630 N. Clinton Ave. 223

(Goodman/Clinton/Investigations)

71 Parkway, 1st FI. 5

(Lake Community Affairs)

846 S. Clinton Ave 8

(Professional Standards Section)

923 Genesee St. 4

(Genesee/Central Community Affairs)

184 Verona St. 4

(Mounted Unit)

Home (Long Term Injured) 19

3 The numbers in this table represent a point in time. Staffing assignments are fluid, affecting these numbers.

8
3. Staffing levels compared to other cities
According to the most recent data released through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program4, Rochester's
officers per 10,000 residents ratio is 35.9. Outside of Birmingham, Rochester has more officers on a per
resident basis than every other one of the 70-plus cities that have between 150,000 and 250,000 residents.5
Rochester has roughly twice as many officers per resident than the average city in this population range.6

Rochester has roughly twice as many officers per resident when compared to the average of the 20 major
cities (that is, cities with more than 100,000 people) with the most similar property crime rates.7 Rochester
has 67% more officers per resident compared to the average of the 20 major cities with the most similar
violent crime rates.8

Among other major Upstate New York cities, Rochester has 18% more officers per resident than Niagara Falls,
19% more than Albany, 22% more than Binghamton, 26% more than Buffalo, 27% more than Syracuse, 32%
more than Utica, 38% more than Troy, and 46% more than Schenectady.9

Finally, the RPD Data Portal includes a list of cities "most similar to Rochester" along a host of variables
including population density, age, sex, race, ethnicity, housing, education, health, economy, transportation,
income levels, and poverty rates. Of the top 20 most similar cities that reported officer employment data to
the FBI in 2019, Rochester had 33% more officers than the average of those cities.10

4 See methodology for The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting methodology here:
https://ucr.fbi.gOv/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/methodology
5 According to the most recent data released through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, there are 75 cities with
populations between 150,000 and 250,000 with police departments. Birmingham’s officers per 10,000 residents ratio is
40.6.
6 According to the most recent data released through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, there are 75 cities with
populations between 150,000 and 250,000 with police departments, average officer per 10,000 residents ratio for cities with
over 25,000 residents that have police departments is 17.1, less than half of Rochester’s 35.9 ratio. Rochester’s status does
not change significantly when you compare it to the 20 cities most similar in size, which have an average officer per 10,000
residents ratio of 17.9 - again, roughly half of Rochester’s 35.9 ratio.
7 In 2019, Rochester had a property crime rate of 3470.882 crimes per 100,000 citizens. Compared to the average officer-
to-resident ratio of 18.3 for the 20 cities with populations above 100,000 that experienced the most similar violent crime
rates that reported both employment and crime data to the FBI in 2019, Rochester’s ratio of 35.9 was 96% bigger.
8 In 2019, Rochester had a violent crime rate of 748.412 crimes per 100,000 citizens. Compared to the average officer-to-
resident ratio of 21.5 for the 20 cities with populations above 100,000 that experienced the most similar violent crime
rates that reported both employment and crime data to the FBI in 2019, Rochester’s ratio of 35.9 was 67% bigger.
9According to the most recent data released through the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Rochester’s officers per 10,000
residents ratio is 35.9, while Niagara Falls’s is 30.5, Albany’s is 30.1, Binghamton’s is 29.5, Buffalo’s is 28.5, Syracuse’s
is 28.3, Utica’s is 27.1, Troy’s is 26.0, and Schenectady’s is 24.6.
10 A number of the cities most similar to Rochester did not appear to report officer employment data to the FBI in 2019.
The list is of cities that ranked most highly on the similarity index in descending order; cities that reported officer
employment data have an officer-to-lOk resident ratio next to them. The list ends when it reaches 20 cities that reported
employment data. Buffalo’s ratio is 28.5, Milwaukee’s is 31.3, Syracuse’s is 28.3, Cleveland’s is 40.9, Pontiac did not
report, Cincinnati’s is 33.8, Lansing’s is 16.8, St. Louis’s is 40, Dayton’s is 25.8, and Springfield, Mass.’s is 31.7,
Wilmington’s is 21.4, Toledo’s is 23.3, Richmond’s is 31.8, Baton Rouge’s is 27.9, Saginaw’s is 11.1, South Bend’s is
23.0, Grand Rapids’s is 14.8, Schenectady’s is 24.6, Akron, Ohio did not report, Canton, Ohio’s is 23.8, Lancaster, Penn,
did not report, Albany’s is 30.1, and Kalamazoo’s is 31.2. The average ratio in these cities is 27; Rochester’s ratio is 33%
larger than this.

9
B. RPD Budget Summary
The RPD operating budget for Fiscal Year 20/21 is $93,616,200. The City budget also includes $51,866,700 in
"Undistributed Funds" for RPD employee benefits11.

C. Recent Staff/Budgetary Changes in Response to Current Events

During the 2020-21 budget process, the Mayor and City Council agreed to reduce the budget allocation for
the Police recruit class by $750,000 and set that funding aside in Contingency for racial equity initiatives. In
September 2020 Council authorized a transfer of $236,700 from Contingency to the Department of
Recreation and Human Services (DRHS) for the purpose of creating a DRHS Office of Crisis Intervention
Services. The Office's initial stated goal was to deploy emergency response teams in the community. An
additional $63,600 was appropriated for benefit expenses.

At the same time, $681,100 in existing funding in the Police Department's Family and Victims Services Office
was also transferred to DRHS (funding transferred reflected remaining fiscal year funding). This office
oversees the Family Crisis Intervention Team (FACIT) and the Victims Assistance Unit (VAU). The objective of
this transfer was to allow the City to effectively respond to crisis situations with trained and experienced
behavioral and mental health professionals independent of law enforcement protocols.

A full year transfer of the Family and Victims Services Office would have been $953,200 (see City budget book
page 9-28). In addition, in the month of January 2021, City Council approved the transfer of an additional
$350,000 to support the new Crisis Intervention Services function in DRHS including the establishment of an
anticipated annual $201,000 contract with Goodwill/211 LifeLine for call center services. Summing the
annualized transfer from RPD ($953,200), the initial transfer from Contingency ($236,700) and an anticipated
additional $201,000 contract we arrive at an annualized estimated sum of $1.39 M in funding for the new
function in DRHS.

The operational implications of this budget shift is described in Section III.E.l.

For more information, please go on line to:

City of Rochester I Crisis Intervention Services

21 DRHS Person in Crisis ERA format Plan FINAL 020321.pdf (citvofrochester.gov)

D. The Role of the RPD in Rochester Today

1. Summary of Crime Trends
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program is the most comprehensive
collection of law enforcement crime data in the United States. The Rochester Police Department (RPD)
collects crime data in accordance with UCR standards and submits to the program through the New York
State Division of Criminal Justice Services. The UCR program divides crime into two primary categories, Part I
and Part II, with Part I representing the most serious crimes. Part I crime is subsequently broken down by
offense type into Violent Crime (Murder, Rape, Robbery, and Aggravated Assault) and Property Crime
(Burglary, Larceny, and Motor Vehicle Theft).

11 In addition to wage and salary compensation, employees are provided with various fringe benefits as
provided by law, collective bargaining agreements, and administrative determination. The City's budgeting
and accounting systems place the allocations for these benefits in a separate department for monitoring
and control purposes. Details on these allocations are found in the Undistributed Expenses section of the
Budget
10
Rochester has experienced a prolonged decrease in its Part I crime rate (accounting for population changes)
since a local peak in the early 1990's. The 2018 rate was the lowest level in at least 35 years and has held
since. Part I crime counts are driven by the property category, most significantly by Larcenies. Larceny totals
typically account for over half of all serious crime and collectively property crime historically represents
roughly 80% of all Part I crimes. Nine times in the last decade (2011-2020) Larceny totals have decreased
from the previous year with the trend resulting in 47% reduction. Similarly, Burglary crimes have been
steadily trending down during the same time-period with 2020 having less than half of the total in 2011, even
after the last two years showed slight increases.

Violent crime has also significantly decreased (38%) locally since the 1990's peak, most notably during the
period of 2007-2014. Since then, violent crime rates have held steady. Historically, Robberies and Aggravated
Assaults account for an overwhelming majority of violent crimes while Murders and Rapes make up less than
5%. Robbery crimes are trending down since 2013 and this year's total was the lowest annual count in the
last three decades. Conversely, Aggravated Assaults are trending up with yearly increases in four of the last
six years including a 15% jump in 2020. Aggravated Assaults are roughly split evenly between both significant
physical assaults and threats of significance violence, often involving deadly weapons. Shooting incidents,
those with a fatal or non-fatal penetrating gunshot wound, drastically impact Aggravated Assault and Murder
totals. Shootings historically makeup over half of all physical assaults and close to 80% of all Murders.
Although shooting totals are often prone to substantial variability, the significant increase (94%) in 2020 is
directly correlated with the upward trend in Aggravated Assaults and a 63% increase in Murders (32 to 52).

Compared to only 2019, 2020 produced consistently elevated counts of shooting victims punctuated by
recent high-profile multiple victim events. While these sporadic events continue to reinforce the enormous
role that violence plays in the community's well-being, perception of safety, and relationship with the Police
Department, it is important to put them in context. This is not a problem unique to Rochester. Nationally and
across New York State firearm-related violence rose sharply in 2020.

2. Summary Calls for Service Trends

Local call for service information is generated in the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system maintained by
the Emergency Communication Department. The analysis work in the 2015 Patrol Reorganization project
relied heavily on calls for service data, call type categorization, and response times. Process improvements
were made to standardized data quality and normalization during the data collection, collation,
contextualization, and analysis of the calls for service data modeling. As a result, RPD created three new
priority response groupings for Non-Discretionary (citizen-generated) call types: .

© Critical - presents a danger to life or property, call in progress

• Urgent - requires immediate police response, no violence indicated
© Normal - does not present an immediate danger, delayed reports

These new groupings more accurately reflect RPD's response to calls for service that are likely to involve
immediate danger to life or property. It is important to note, while these grouping use existing call types to
add context for additional analysis, they do not affect the existing dispatching definitions, protocols, or
prioritization (e.g., Priority I, Priority II, etc.) used by the Emergency Communication Department. The new
categories were adopted as Key Performance Indicators by city officials in 2016.

The five years of data since this re-categorization reflect a continuation of the preceding downward trend of
citizen-generated calls for service. The trend has been consistent but gradual with 2020 levels more than 8%
below 2016 totals. Critical calls for service have remained consistent at roughly 49,000 annually. Significant

11
annual reductions, about 5% each year, in Urgent calls for service are driving the overall decrease. There was
a 10% uptick in Normal calls for service in 2020 which offset the Urgent categorical increase in the year-to-
year change from 2019.

While there is a long-term decrease across all priorities of non-discretionary calls for service, Urgent calls
have been decreasing at a faster rate than Critical and Normal calls. Even though call volumes have
decreased, the median time spent at all calls has increased substantially since 2011. Also, the total amount of
time spent collectively at the calls has remained the same for those prioritized as Urgent, (again even though
there has been a decrease in overall calls), but decreased and then increased correlating with the inverse of
the budgeted patrol officer staffing levels for Critical and Normal calls. This may be due to an increase in
multiple officer responses at the Normal and Critical calls, while not witnessing that same change at the
Urgent call level. The increased median time at each call cannot be directly attributed to administrative
duties, but they cannot be excluded as possibilities. Overall, officers have been staying longer on single­
officer calls, but multiple officer responses may be shortening the total time spent on some of the calls that
historically require more time.

3. RPD Community Programming

In 2015, RPD underwent a restructuring of its operations, returning officers to neighborhood patrol beats to
engage in community policing efforts. RPD established the Community Affairs Bureau, which coordinates all
communications, public information, and community engagement initiatives. The following is a list of some of
RPD's current programs to help develop strong relationships in the community:

® Clergy on Patrol - Clergy on Patrol is a partnership between the RPD and the local clergy. Officers
walk the neighborhoods with officers of the clergy to identify neighborhood-specific issues and build
relationships with neighbors.
® Community Volunteer Response Team- CVRT volunteers check in on residents after a homicide
occurs in a neighborhood to help rebuild peace of mind, and refer individuals experiencing negative
physical or emotional symptoms to appropriate.
• Police and Citizens Together against Crime - PAC-TAC volunteers work with on-duty patrol officers in
their neighborhood and interact with other residents and local merchants to help prevent crime. All
volunteer residents receive extensive training.
© Police Citizens Interaction Committee- Each section convenes monthly meetings attended by section
staff and representatives of neighborhoods groups within the section to discuss crime patterns,
quality of life issues, environmental concerns, problem locations and crime statistics. Meetings are
intended to be interactive, where everyone is encouraged to participate in an open dialogue.
• Police Training Advisory Committee - This committee is made up of Department representatives and
community members to review current and proposed police training and advise RPD on training
policies. Topic-based subgroups were formed to move matters forward. The pandemic unfortunately
has delayed the work of this committee and its subgroups. Prior to this delay, police experts in many
areas met with community members providing examples of police tactics; however, no formal
recommendations were finalized by the committee and there is a need to reinvigorate the Advisory
Committee.
© ROC Against Gun Violence Coalition - This coalition of residents, organizations, and city officials seeks
to decrease gun violence in Rochester by bringing attention to the causes and effects of gun violence
and promoting quality of life in Rochester's neighborhoods.
• Neighborhood Association Meetings - Police officers regularly attend neighborhood association
meetings in their beat. This allows for a dialogue between police and officers of the community to
address specific problems in a neighborhood.

12
 • GIVE Program - The department's adoption of the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative
serves as another component of strategies designed to address crime through community
relationships. Through this program, Focused Deterrence Steering Committees are in place. Meetings
occur as agency leaders seek ways to understand disputes and proactively address them before fatal
encounters arise. Working with myriad faith-based partners, grassroots organization, and Pathways
to Peace helps set the stage for on-going relationships.
• Citizen's Police Academy -The Rochester Police Department's Citizen's Police Academy (CPA) was
established by the RPD in 1992 with the objective of advancing our collaborative partnership
between the Police and community and developing solutions to problems while increasing public
trust. The CPA is a 10-week program held once a year with an average class of 20-25 attendees. It
provides a broad-based look at the policies, procedures and operations of the RPD.

The Police Accountability Board believes it is difficult to gauge the success of these programs. They may be
deployed infrequently or without adequate resources. Programs may require officers to listen to community
members but not change police behaviors and tactics based on what community members say. Success of
programs may be measured by the number of meetings or community contacts, rather than whether
programs achieve their goals, satisfy residents, or fulfill the community's expressed public safety needs.
Comprehensive data on the implementation of these programs is necessary to determine whether these
programs should be continued, expanded, or discontinued.

With respect to interactions with youth in the community, the RPD engages in youth programming. By
creating a youth-police partnership, officers can teach skills, build relationships, and encourage interest in
young people joining the ranks of the Department. The following are some of the ways the Rochester Police
Department, as a program leader or a partnering agency, currently engages with young people:

• Books and Bears - RPD officers keep children's books and teddy bears in the trunks of their patrol
cars. The books and bears are given to children who find themselves in traumatic situations.
• Do the Right Thing Program - The program recognizes youth for helping law enforcement and other
first responders, acts of heroism, courage and quick thinking, leadership and role model behavior,
and volunteering in their community. The award distinguishes school-age children who strive to make
good choices, do well in school, give back to their communities, or demonstrate a "turn-around" or
improved behavior.
• Police Explorer Post 655 - The Police Explorer Post is an organization established with support of
'Scouts BSA' which closely follows the basic methods and policies of scouts. The purpose of the
Explorer Post is to offer young men and women between 14 and 20 years-of-age insight into the field
of law enforcement.
• Urban Fellows Program - The RPD offers fellowship opportunities to both graduate and
undergraduate students in areas of criminal justice, sociology, and political science.
• Pathways to Peace (PTP) - PTP was initiated as part of a comprehensive effort to safeguard the lives
of at-risk youth, diffuse potentially violent situations, and help them get on a track to a better life.
The PTP team reaches out into targeted neighborhoods to assess the needs of youth, network with
all available resources and link at risk youth to appropriate services. Pathways to Peace offers
prevention, intervention and direct monitoring of youth receiving the services needed to support
their positive progress.
• Police Recruit Education Program (PREP) - The mission of PREP is to prepare students for a successful
law enforcement career with the Rochester Police Department. PREP is a two-year program and is
open to first-year Criminal Justice students enrolled at Monroe Community College. PREP gives
"Cadets" a first-hand practical training experience with the Department, including participation in a
mentorship program, part-time employment, and job shadowing. PREP participants are also exposed

13
 to several law enforcement activities, such as role-play training exercises, riding along with Police
Officers, and engaging in community outreach events. Several Cadets have become sworn Police
Officers with the Department.
• Wegmans Mentorship Program - This program is a partnership with Wegmans to provide young
adults an opportunity to explore the various aspects of a career in law enforcement with a focus on
becoming a Rochester Police Officer.
• Career Pathways to Public Safety - The Career Pathways to Public Safety program is a partnership
between the Rochester City School District and the City of Rochester to increase non-white
representation and local residency in its uniformed divisions while increasing the awareness of career
opportunities within the public safety field.
• Bigs In Blue (Big Brothers Big Sisters) - Bigs in Blue is a one-to-one mentoring program that connects
the Greater Rochester area's youth with police, building strong, trusting, lasting relationships. These
relationships can help children develop into confident adults and help build stronger bonds between
law enforcement and the families they serve.
• Project T.I.P.S. (Trust, Information, Programs, and Services) - Project T.I.P.S. (Trust, Information,
Programs, and Services) is a series of events during the summer months where community agencies
and law enforcement personnel work in selected neighborhoods to rebuild trust amongst residents
and to share valuable information. Locations are selected by the RPD command staff, with
collaboration from the Rochester Fire Department and other partner agencies. Attendees can speak
with law enforcement and other community agencies, receive information and valuable items, have a
cookout, and playgames.

Community policing is not measured by the "number" of meetings or number of "community contacts."
Community policing is a philosophical approach that connects the police to how the community thinks, feels
and talks about them. The programs listed above, when properly led, allows for "frequency of interaction
with the police and community" and the byproduct is that trust is built. This information represents the
current practices and there is a need to streamline the current programs, determine their purpose, and
retool efforts to meet community policing goals.

E. Inventory and Assessment of RPD Law Enforcement Practices and Strategies

1. Response to Psychiatric calls

Due to recent events, the role of Police Officers in responding to psychiatric calls has been in question. As a
result, in September 2020, The City of Rochester announced the creation of a new Crisis Intervention Services
Office in the City of Rochester Department of Recreation and Human Services. This office comprises four
service units (See Figure 1). The Family and Crisis Intervention Team (FACIT) and Victim Assistance Unit were
both long-running community support programs within RPD. These two units were moved as a part of
legislation passed by Rochester City Council into the new office. In addition, two new response teams were
commissioned to be a part of this office. The Homicide Response Team provides a community wide
coordinated response to families and neighbors impacted by homicides. Finally, the Person in Crisis Team, or
"PIC Team" is a program that was commissioned to create full-time (24 hour/7 day coverage) law
enforcement alternative response of trained professionals to address behavioral health and related crises
occurring in the City of Rochester. The program goal is to divert 911 and 211 (Lifeline) from a traditional Law
Enforcement response to a social services/mental health professional response.

14
Figure 1

Crisis Intervention Services Office

Family Crisis Intervention Victim Assistance Unit Homicide Response Team* Person In Crisis Team (PIC)*
Team
Crisis support services after a Responds with a 4-6 member Being formed to be a law-
Crisis counseling to victims crime team to each homicide and enforcement alternative
directly after the crisis has Home or hospital visits support families of victim (s) by response to mental health,
occurred connecting them to support domestic violence and other
Explanation of the criminal services provided by FACIT and identified crises calls (First
Assesses and counsels clients Justice system Responder)
VAU and other providers.
and connects to services
Referrals to other agencies (Coordinated Response) Team will be Emergency
Coordinates between service
Transportation to and from court The team will also support Response Social Workers
providers and follow up case
management for victims and witnesses who neighbors with grief services and Working on 911/211 dispatch,
have exhausted all other means mediation to prevent retaliation protocols and team training with
of transportation or continued violence a comprehensive advisory
committee
Assistance in filing NYS Crime
Victim Compensation

The PIC Team program, launched on January 21, 2021, is starting out as a 6-month pilot program designed to
provide a better understanding for long term implementation.

The metrics that will be used to evaluate the PIC Team pilot program upon completion of the pilot include:

% of Calls Transitioned - Reduce the number of behavioral health and lower acuity calls traditionally
responded to by law enforcement or EMS.
Impact on ED/hospital utilization - Reduce the number of individuals transported to the emergency
department that could be instead addressed in a non-hospital setting.
Outcomes for individuals - Along with documenting meaningful connections to services, i.e.
enrollment in ongoing case management, establish and track other key performance indicators
regarding the reduction in the number of non-warrant arrests that result during a 911 response.
Cost-Benefit Analysis - Monitor and analyze comparing the investment into the PIC Team and related
Crisis Intervention Services Office programming with the costs of sending law enforcement or EMS
for the same interventions.

For the implementation of the PIC Team program, the ability to assess and assign calls coming in through 911
and 211 was analyzed by call type and a variety of factors which assigns an acuity level or level of complexity
or severity to a call. Flow charts and modeling that demonstrated how calls coming in categorized as "mental
health" can be routed using a risk analysis process. This analysis revealed that, for the study period (January
2021), approximately 43% of calls could be diverted away from law enforcement.

2. Crowd control
RPD indicates that their approach to responding to crowd control is a measured response that is predicated
on the behavior of the individuals at the event. Crowd control functions at festivals provides assistance with
traffic control and resources for community organizers and community members based on the number of
anticipated attendees and information about the event. For planned demonstrations, as a common practice,
RPD seeks to identify a liaison with various groups or individuals to establish parameters for a peaceful event.

15
Demonstrations conducted during the summer of 2020 in Rochester sparked controversy over tactics (e.g.,
tear gas, pepper balls, Kettling12) used by the RPD against demonstrators in an attempt to control the
movement and behavior of the large crowds. These tactics intensified the strain on the relationship of the
community and the RPD.

Policy around the handling of protests changed in early 2021 and includes the following description of crowd
levels for determining appropriate responses:

Level I: Peaceful/ Lawful Protest-Demonstration

Defined as a gathering(s) whereas individuals are nonviolent, not committing crimes that impact other
community members, and the group or individual express disapproval of a government or institutional
action. This may involve protest advocates that hold signs and may include boycotting, participating in
marches, sit-ins, displaying a particular symbol, and/or handing out flyers.

In response to a Level I Protest, the Rochester police department will monitor the protest, assist
protestors from individual agitators whose intent is to do harm or violence. There may be little to no
police interaction. Officers may contact protestors to make them aware of current laws, noise
ordinances, or road hazards to name a few.

Level II: Peaceful / Protest/ Criminal Acts (Non-Violent)

Defined as gatherings where individuals are nonviolent and actively committing crimes such as blocking
a thorough-fare, acting disorderly, public expression of objection, the group or individuals having a
history of aggression, and/or resisting police but have not created a high risk to the public or previously
committed acts of violence.

In response to a Level II Protest, the activation of the Mobile Field Force (MMF) may only be warranted
with the approval of a Deputy Police Chief and only when there is documented proof individuals
present at the protest have a history of aggression, and they are actively showing signs of physical
aggression and there is a reason to believe failing to use MMF will lead to a Level III activation.

Level III: Riotous/ Violent behavior/Criminal Actions

Defined as active rioting, looting, setting fires, the use of threats of violence, terror to the public,
committing harmful acts that injure people require a police response. In response to Level III rioting,
the activation of MMF, rapid response teams, and the utilization of the Incident Command System is
warranted.

In January 2021, the Police Accountability Board launched an oversight investigation into the RPD's policies,
practices, and procedures regarding protests and other mass gatherings.

3. Police in Schools

The RPD formerly had School Resource Officers (SRO) in some of the city schools, but an agreement with the
Rochester City School District terminated this service prior to the start of the 2020 school year.

4. Practices and strategies that may pose an undue risk of harm to the public

Advocates, experts, and some in the law enforcement community have drawn attention to a number of
specific policing strategies that may pose an undue risk of harm to the public. The discussion below provides
an explanation on if and how the RPD uses these law enforcement practices. Many of these RPD practices

12 RPD indicates that they do not engage in the use of the tactic referred to as Kettling.
16
and strategies are guided by General Orders and Legal Updates. A General Order (G.O.) is a written policy
directive issued for and relayed to all RPD personnel. G.O.'s can be accessed on the RPD Open Data Portal.
Legal Updates are sent to employees through a link to a program that allows employees to read the update.
The program includes an audit feature that tracks who read the document. Periodic updates and training are
posted as part of "information updates" housed on RpdWeb, an internal employee website. Information is
also relayed in person as all police officers receive both traffic and criminal law training as part of the police
academy and field training programs.

a. Broken Windows Theory

Broken windows theory is a criminological theory that states that visible signs of crime, anti-social
behavior, and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder,
including serious crimes. When the urban landscape starts changing, an influx of broken windows,
graffiti, and other quality of life issues signal a potential correlated increase in crime. Recognizing
these changes, officers would work with government and community members to problem solve to
improve the quality of life associated with the shifting landscape. However, police agencies, not well
trained, use the term "broken window" to justify aggressive police actions against BIPOC (Black,
Indigenous, People of Color) instead of using community policing to work in tandem with the
community. Its original design has been altered. Strategy Implementation is often misaligned with
the broader theory principles.

b. Stop and Frisk

Stop and Frisk practice is based on a court decision (1968) "Terry Vs Ohio" whereas an officer must
articulate that a person being stopped is armed and presently dangerous. This practice, in many
police agencies, led officers to believe they could make stops based on their perception of the
neighborhood instead of articulating the actual person stopped is armed. The widespread practice of
stops based on where individuals live, coupled with not clearly understanding the legality of Stop and
Frisk or "pat down" searches, led to abuse in other municipalities. Hence, the RPD neither condones
nor permits the use of any bias-based profiling in arrests, traffic contacts, field contacts,
investigations, or asset seizure and forfeiture efforts, and is committed to equitable policing and
equal rights for all. As such, RPD reports that they do not engage in Stop and Frisk practices;
however, a "Terry Frisk" is permissible when an officer can articulate the person contacted is armed.
(G.O.'s 502 & 570; Legal Updates L-05-97, L-39-02, L-40-02; and Patrol Procedure P-42-17).

c. Chokeholds and Other Restrictions on Breathing

Choke holds include any hold that applies pressure to a subject's throat which reduces or prevents air
from passing through the neck of a subject. Lateral vascular neck restraints are techniques that apply
pressure to the vascular structure of a subject's neck. For the RPD, these techniques are prohibited,
except in extreme circumstances when deadly physical force is authorized. (See Legal Update L-58-
15) An example of extreme circumstances could be if a subject is attempting to take possession of an
officer's weapon and is attempting to use it against the officer or the public. In this case, a chokehold
would be justified to prevent the imminent injury or death at the hands of the subject.

In the wake of the death of George Floyd and Daniel Prude, the use of chokeholds and other
breathing restrictions have caused a great deal of concern and scrutiny.

d. Use of Force
Similar to the use of tactics that restrict an individual's breathing, the excessive use of force by the
RPD has also become a community concern. The death of Daniel Prude and the recent incident
involving the cuffing and pepper-spraying of a nine-year-old girl has brought this issue to light for
many people in the Rochester community. These incidents, along with similar incidents in other

17
 cities, caught on Body-worn camera footage, has made the excessive use of force a public safety
concern.

According to the RPD, officers are trained to only use "Appropriate Force" defined as, "The
reasonable force, based upon the totality of the circumstances known by the officer, to affect an
arrest, overcome resistance, control an individual or situation, defend oneself or others, or prevent a
subject's escape." (See G.O. 335).

e. Pretextual Stops
A pretextual stop is a when a police officer detains an individual for a minor crime, like a traffic
violation, because they believe that the person was actually involved in or has committed another
more serious crime. The Monroe County Public Defender's Office (MCPDO) report (Appendix H)
states that, "[wjhile such stops are lawful, they are corrosive and toxic to our community. They fuel
anger against police officers who refuse to allow young people and adults of color to ride bicycles or
walk in their neighborhoods in ways that white people can in the predominantly white city
neighborhoods of the South Wedge and Park Avenue areas, or in the suburbs of Monroe County. "13

According to the MCPDO, Rochester Police officers stop people of color disproportionately to people
who are white. In fact, according to research conducted by the MCPDO, "the overwhelming majority
of tickets issued for no lights (or bells) on bikes, failure to use the sidewalk, and inadequate turn
signal were issued in majority minority areas of the City of Rochester. Where the race of the ticketed
person was provided, over 90% of recipients were Black. "14

In 2017, the RPD issued General Order 502 ("Equitable Policing"), which states that the RPD "neither
condones nor permits the use of any bias-based profiling in arrests, traffic contacts, field contacts,
investigations, or asset seizure and forfeiture efforts." To this point, officers are not authorized to
single out a vehicle or individuals who are walking or riding a bicycle for attention due solely to their
skin color or ethnicity, or for some other discriminatory reason. Once the vehicle has been stopped,
questioning of the occupants and searches of the vehicle or its occupants still must meet
constitutional requirements. (Legal Update L-39-02, G.O. 502).

f. Informal Quotas for Summonses, Tickets or Arrests

The RPD does not engage in operational practices that encourage or mandate informal quotas for
summonses, tickets, or arrest. RPD policies dictate that Patrol Officers are instead evaluated based
on individual employee career development needs to assist in the formulation and achievement of
career goals and objectives. (See G.O. 207).

g. Shooting at Moving Vehicles

The discharge of a firearm from or at a moving vehicle is prohibited unless the officer reasonably
believes that the occupant(s) of the vehicle are using or are about to use deadly physical force against
the officer or another person. Therefore, shooting at a fleeing vehicle that is traveling away from the
officer and is no longer a threat to the officer or a third person is prohibited. (See G.O. 340).

h. High Speed Pursuits

Officers will not initiate or continue a pursuit unless there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the
operator of, or a passenger within, the vehicle pursued has committed or is about to commit a
serious violent felony crime (e.g., arson, felony assault, forcible rape, kidnapping, robbery, menacing

13 Executive Order 203 Report, Monroe County Public Defender's Office, March 1, 2021, p. 3
14 Executive Order 203 Report, Monroe County Public Defender's Office, March 1, 2021, p. 4
18
 with a firearm, murder, etc.). Officers must constantly evaluate the risks involved while continuing a
pursuit or emergency response, to ensure the risks associated with the pursuit (e.g., speed involved,
traffic density, time of day, weather/road conditions, etc.) does not outweigh the possible benefits.
(See G.O. 530).

i. Use of SWAT Teams

The RPD employs a team designated as Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT): A non-fulltime group of
officers who are specially selected, trained, and equipped to deal with unique, high-risk, law
enforcement situations. These situations include hostage incidents, barricaded armed subjects, high-
risk warrant service, high-risk suspect apprehension, protection of dignitaries, and any other
situations as determined by the Chief of Police, Deputy Chief of the Operations Bureau, or the
Commander of the Special Operations Division. (See G.O. 630).

J- No-Knock Warrants
RPD policy requires that an officer prepare an Application for a Search Warrant and Search Warrant
documents for submission to their immediate supervisor, who will review its prima-facie content and
form. Following an investigation establishing probable cause, the preparing officer (with supervisory
approval) or reviewing supervisor may consult with the on-call Assistant District Attorney to further
review and obtain legal advice prior to submission of these documents to the appropriate court.

The original Application and Search Warrant will be presented to a judge who presides in the court of
jurisdiction over the target location of the warrant where the warrant is given to concur with its legal
sufficiency prior to execution of the warrant. If the judge approves the legal sufficiency of the
submitted documents, they will sign the warrant to grant authority for the search and subsequent
seizure. NOTE: The reasons for a "no-knock" or "nighttime" warrant (any time after 9:00 p.m. and
before 6:00 a.m.; CPL 690.40.2) must be set forth in the application and the judge's order (warrant)
must specifically give such authority to those executing the warrant. (See G.O. 415).

k. Less-Than-Lethal Weaponry such as Tasers and Pepper Spray

The "less-than-lethal" weaponry currently used by the RPD includes: batons, tasers ("conducted
electrical weapons"), bean bag rounds ("kinetic energy impact projectiles" or "KEIP" shot via "less
lethal force shotguns"), pepperballs (shot via a "pepperball launching system" or "PLS"), pepper spray
("OC spray"), and tear gas ("CS gas").1'' The use of less-than-lethal weaponry is explicitly restricted by
RPD policy and, accordingly, is only to be used as a means of force in non-deadly use of force
situations. These tools are intended to provide an officer with a less lethal alternative to safely take a
violent or dangerous person(s) into custody by allowing officers to deploy these tools from an
extended range. Only those officers that have successfully completed an annual training course and
have demonstrated proficiency in the use of less-than-lethal weaponry is authorized to deploy them.
(See G.O. 335,340,601,605,630, and SOP 700). The deployment of "less-than-lethal" weapons is a
controversial subject about which many people in Rochester have serious concerns. Many
recommendations found in Section VII address this subject.

Tear Gas is basically defined as "Chemical Munitions." Chemical Munition is a system which delivers
a chemical agent such Chlorobenzylidene malononitrile known as "CS" and Oleoresin Capsicum spray
known as "OC". The utilization of chemical munitions may be used by the RPD when it can aid in an
officer's abilities to make an arrest where an uncooperative person is refusing to be arrested. It is
also used for crowd control, officer safety, and as dispersal tactics. The use of tear gas involves basic

1:1 https://www.wxxinews.org/post/protesters-report-menstrual-changes-after-tear-gas-exposure
19
 skills provided during academy instruction and in-service training. It can require advanced skills that
may require specialty equipment and training which are deployed by Mobil Field Force Members.

The RPD also uses sound cannons ("long range acoustical devices" or "LRADs"). A Standard Operating
Procedure covers the use of the LRAD. Use of sound cannons is considered "Use of Force" outlined
within General Order 335 Subject Resistance Report. Its usage is restricted to orders to disperse for
public safety concerns that may arise from the dispersal of large crowds and/or to give routes of
egress/ traffic patterns.

I. Facial Recognition Technology

The RPD does not own or employ the use of facial recognition technology.

m. "Stingrays" or Similar Technology

The RPD does not have "stingrays" and they are only used when there is a court order in
emergencies where other agencies have access to this technology.

5. Practices and strategies that are recognized as reducing racial disparities and building trust
In Monroe County in 2018/2019, approximately 67% of the 14 - 15,000 adult crimes committed were for
misdemeanor offenses which include substance abuse, simple abuse, property theft, sex work, and other
property related crimes. The racial diversity of misdemeanor arrests was similar to the total arrests with
approximately 40% white, 45% black, 12% latinx, and 3% other. However, in Monroe County, the
misdemeanor arrest rate for white people is 10% while for blacks it is 75%. Latinx and other people are
arrested at about the same rate as their respective population percentage. Over 50% of people currently
incarcerated in Monroe County are there as the result of a misdemeanor offense. In 2018, 67% of final
dispositions and decisions in Monroe County Courts were the result of misdemeanor offenses. Limited
recidivism data exists for people who have committed a misdemeanor offense and have been released from
jail.16

In Monroe County in 2018/2019, approximately 60% of youthful arrests were for misdemeanor offenses.
While youthful arrests for both felony and misdemeanor charges have declined by nearly 58% over the last 5
years, there were still 452 misdemeanor arrests in 2019 (down from 1064 in 2015). Importantly, prior studies
have shown that:

° 62% - 87% of adult incarcerated males experienced childhood trauma;

• 77-90% of adult incarcerated women experienced childhood trauma.17

According to UCLM, "They have significant mental/behavioral health issues. Until we as a society deal with
the underlying issues, we will continue to arrest and incarcerate people with a significant social safety and
financial cost to individuals, families, and the community. "18

Law enforcement experts have suggested that various policing and criminal justice strategies can reduce
racial disparities and build trust between police departments and the community. Listed below are a number
of those strategies currently used by the RPD. A number of these strategies discussed (e.g., Diversion
Programs and Restorative Justice Programs) require cooperation from the District Attorney and others from

16 Specific Reform Proposals, United Christian Leadership Ministry of WNY, Inc., December 2020, p. 32

17 Specific Reform Proposals, United Christian Leadership Ministry of WNY, Inc., December 2020, p. 32
18 Ibid., p. 33
20
the judicial system. Additionally, without public data on effectiveness, funding, and staffing for these
practices and strategies, it is unclear precisely how the City continues to engage in them.

a. Using Summonses Rather than Warrantless Arrests for Specified Offenses

The Rochester Police Department follows the NYS Bail Reform Guidelines to issues Summonses and
Appearance Tickets for specified offenses within the mandate. Designed to ensure the justice system
emphasizes equitable treatment and the reduction of racial disparities, the elimination of cash bail
and pretrial detention for several misdemeanors and nonviolent felony defendants are based on
countless stories provided to the courts where individuals suspected of crimes were held, unable to
afford a bond, and lost jobs, time with family members, student loans, etc.

b. Restorative Justice Programs

Restorative Justice Programs use mediation and reconciliation to address disputes between parties.
The practice focuses on establishing respect and understanding and has been recognized as a highly
effective crime resolution strategy that contributes to lower incidents of dispute reoccurrence and
recidivism.19 The following is a list of programs that are used as part of the RPD Restorative Justice
Program:

• Victim/Offender Mediation Dialogue through Center for Dispute Settlements (CDS). Any
member of the RPD may refer people to CDS.
• RPD Victim Assistance and involvement which is utilized by victims to assist them with the
criminal procedure process and aids the victims of crimes through emergency housing,
transportation, or financial assistance. Anyone who receives an incident report receives the
contact information for victim's assistance. Additionally, there is information on the City of
Rochester website, and people may walk in to the office during business hours.
• Community Service through Police and Citizen Interaction Committees (PCIC), involves
periodic centralized events that offer community information and interaction with many law
enforcement departments, such as RPD, NYS Troopers, District Attorney's Office, Mental
Health facilities, etc.
• Outreach is provided by RPD to interact with citizens and assist with issues within their
neighborhood. An outreach is a planned event in the community such as a picnic, where the
City makes representatives from all the public service providers available in person to the
public. These representatives also typically go door to door in the neighborhood with officers
to contact the residents and solicit information regarding any issues that need to be
addressed in the neighborhood.

c. Community-Based Outreach and Violence Interruption Programs

See Section III.D.3 above.

d. Hot-Spot Policing and Focused Deterrence

Pro-Active Dispatching (PAD) started May 2019 ended March 2020 (due to COVID). Pro-active
Dispatching showed some positive results. Data will be further evaluated to inform a decision on
whether it should be implemented citywide.

Problem Oriented Policing (POP) Areas are geographic areas with disproportional violent crime rate
that is above the norm, where the department is deploying extra resources both for enforcement
and community policing. In identified POP areas, incidents are noted on the Monroe Crime Analysis

19 https://cops.usdoi.Rov/

21
 Center's nightly summary to better track violence within a known hot-spot so that they can be better
addressed.

e. De-Escalation Strategies
Roll Call training and In-Service training which has been provided to all RPD. This training teaches
officers how to deal with subjects in crisis, or at a heightened emotional state. Officers learn how to
defuse intense emotions, establish a rapport, and gain information to work toward a successful
resolution. (Created Aug. 2020)

f. Diversion Programs
There has been considerable discussion on strategies of law enforcement with a focus on the
development of alternative measures that decrease racial disparity and inequity. The following is a
list of Diversion Programs that are currently used within the RPD:

Provided by Rochester Regional Health, the Behavioral Health Department evaluates those
arrested to determine the best path for recovery in lieu of incarceration.
Drug Treatment Court.
Monroe County Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI); this program is in conjunction with the
Monroe County Courts which evaluates those that have been arrested and finds alternative
options to incarceration.
The options that currently exist in Rochester / Monroe County for pre-arrest diversion are
limited. They include:
> Behavioral Health Access Crisis Center
> Project HOPE - Heroin and Opioid Addiction
> Crisis Intervention / Emotionally Disturbed Person Response Team
Rochester and Monroe County enacted the Swift Certain and Fair initiative a few years ago
which "reduces reoffending, arrest, and incarceration by replacing unpredictable and high-
level sanctions for probation violations with swift, certain, but small penalties."20 This
program combines frequent, individualized, and meaningful incentives with immediate,
consistent and proportionate sanctions to address gun violence committed by young
offenders.21

The RPD neither screens nor recommends diversion programs directly. This is done by a judge,
usually upon arraignment or intake.

6. Practices and strategies for effectively responding to hate crimes

Hate crimes against individuals in protected classes are an attack not only on the individual, but also on the
whole community.22 The RPD takes seriously any reported crimes, in particular, those crimes that are
motivated by prejudices towards protected classes. All officers are trained and expected to comply with all
legal and constitutional requirements applicable during criminal investigations; conduct vigorous and
thorough investigations of all offenses observed or brought to their attention; and to employ the procedures

20 https://nnscommunities.orR/strateRies/swift-certain-fair
21 https://knowledRebank.criminaliustice.nv.Rov/swift-certain-and-fair-proRram

22 Fair and Just Prosecution. Blueprint for Police Accountability and Reform: A New Vision for Policing and the Justice System, p. 11.
https://fairandiustprosecution.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policing-Roadmap-FINAL.pdf.

22
of Preliminary Investigation and Continued Investigations, as applicable. (See G.O.'s 401 & 502; and Penal
Law Guidance on Hate Crime).

To aid in the handling of and investigation of crimes against people of protected classes, RPD developed
policies and procedures to aid officers with assisting diverse communities in need of service. These
procedures include the ability to employ interpreters to assist in interviews with those members of our
community who have limited English proficiency or are deaf or hard of hearing. (See G.O.'s 401, 502 & 517;
and Training Bulletins on Community Relation C-06-00 & C-09-13).

The NYS Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Basic Course for Police officers mandates a training
program on cultural awareness. The training objectives identify and define characteristics (indicators) of hate
crime, biased policing, and sexual harassment to include proper procedures for handling such crimes.
Additional training mandated by DCJS promotes awareness and pertinent information along with proper
procedures on interactions/incidents involving protected classes. DCJS training programming includes Blue
Courage/Procedural Justice, Elder Abuse, Persons with Disabilities, Community Resources - Victim/Witness
Services, and Ethics and Professionalism.

RPD expanded upon DCJS's cultural awareness mandates and added an additional day of training during the
post academy. Members of the community representing a wide array of cultural backgrounds, are asked to
come into the Public Safety Training Academy to address new recruits and to have positive dialogue
regarding cultural differences.

RPD recognizes the need for continued training on these important topics. Therefore, throughout an officer's
career, the department provides roll call training, training bulletins, and annual in-service trainings on these
topics, so that officers will stay up to date with contemporary issues that impact members of our community.
(See 3-Part Roll Call Training on Hate Crimes, G.O.s 401, 502, 517 & Training Bulletins and Penal Law
Guidance on Hate Crimes)

F. Implementation of "Procedural Justice" in RPD Functions

Procedural justice focuses on the way law enforcement interacts with the public, and how these interactions
shape the public's trust of the police. The premise, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and
Human Rights, is that citizens judge the police "based on how they are treated rather than on the outcomes
of interactions."23 The mandate is to retool the rules of engagement for Police Officers from that of "warrior"
against segments of the population to that of a "guardian" to protect the entire population.24 Procedural
justice emphasizes the need for police to demonstrate their legitimacy to the public in four areas—voice,
transparency, fairness, and impartiality.25

Within their practice of community-oriented policing, RPD is carrying out training centered on the tenets of
Procedural Justice. This includes Implicit Bias training designed to foster relationships between the RPD and
the community. In 2017, RPD trained 679 of its sworn Police Officers in a four (4) hour block of Implicit Bias
training. In 2018, a total of 681 sworn employees received Procedural Justice training (an 8-hour block). Over
90% of the RPD's sworn-uniformed Police Officers received this training. RPD, however, indicates that there
has been a training gap of more than two-years.

23 Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. (2019). New Era of Public Safety: A Guide to Fair, Safe, and Effective
Community Policing, p. 17. https://civilrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Policing Full Report.pdf.
24 Id. at 36 and 262-63
25 Emma Peterson, Jessica Reichert, and Kaitlyn Konefa, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Research Hub,
Procedural Justice in Policing: How the Process of Justice Impacts Public Attitudes and Law Enforcement Outcomes,
November 7, 2017
23
It is acknowledged throughout RPD and the community that further adoption and implementation of the
tenets of Procedural Justice would benefit the RPD culture and training programs. Refer to the
recommendations Section VII.

G. Community Engagement Techniques/Strategies as Applied to RPD

Community engagement is imperative to forming trust between officers and the citizens in the
neighborhoods they police. The concept of community policing can, however, often be misunderstood and
misapplied. Many applications of this concept do not capture the deeper, sustained role a community can
play in policing.26 Community-oriented policing seeks to address the causes of crime and to reduce fear of
social disorder through problem-solving strategies and police-community partnerships.27 The following
Community Policing techniques/strategies have been instituted in Rochester:

1. Community organizations, advisory boards, and committees

There are myriad ways the RPD currently meets with community groups. Through a partnership with the City
Neighborhood Service Centers, RPD routinely attends community meetings and events. During FY 2019­
2020, RPD reported the following statistics relating to engagement with neighborhood groups (pre-Covid):

• Community Meetings Attended: 378

• Outreaches Attended/Conducted: 585
• Community Events Attended: 831
• Approximate Total Person Hours: 2,872

Additionally, the Rochester Police Department works in conjunction with many Community Advisory Boards
and faith communities, including the Community Justice Advisory Board, United Christian Leadership
Ministry, MPACT (Ministers and Police Alliance for Civic Transformation), MCATCP (Monroe County Alliance
for Transformation of Community and Police), Clergy Response Team, and Flower City Chaplains group.

2. Police-community reconciliation
A process that seeks to improve strained relationships between police and communities of color, the RPD
works with the Center for Dispute Settlement (CDS) to repair strained relationships between officers and
community members. The CDS works as a referral agency with both parties agreeing to participate. Both
parties agree to participate at a neutral location for the purposes of a structured discussion to mediate
issues. G.O. 315 describes this policy. The CDS is used very infrequently. As discussed elsewhere in this
report, the Community Affairs Bureau works hand in hand with youth groups, faith-based groups to include
UCLM with Rev. Stewart, MPACT with Pastor Don Stevens and numerous other groups. The Bureau also
conducts dozens of monthly meetings with community groups throughout the city as well as cookouts, walks,
food drives, youth sports and many other activities.

3. Attention to marginalized communities

Marginalized communities includes people with limited English proficiency, people with communication
disabilities, the LGBTQJA+ community, and immigrant communities. The RPD has a liaison assigned to the
Rochester Immigrant Community and community members who have limited communication abilities.
Additionally, RPD has assigned an LGBTQIA Liaison for the department, with the goal of increasing that
number to three. Lastly, RPD instituted policies and procedures to aid officers with assisting diverse

26 United States Department of Justice. (2015). Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century
Policing, https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf
27 Community Policing, (n.d.). https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=81
24
communities in need of service. These procedures include the ability to employ interpreters to assist in
interviews with those members of our community who have limited English proficiency or are deaf or hard of
hearing.

4. Partnering with students and schools

In addition to the Chiefs Youth Advisory Council described below, the RPD officers regularly read to students
in school and collaborate with student athletes for basketball camps, softball and kickball games and various
other events. RPD also sponsors and runs the "DO THE RIGHT THING" program which recognizes local youth
who've done amazing things within our community.

5. Involving youth in discussions on the role of law enforcement agencies

The Rochester Police Department currently works with The Chiefs Youth Advisory Council and The Center for
Teen Empowerment to discuss current issues and foster relationships. The RPD Chiefs Youth Advisory
Council (CYAC) meets regularly for training and networking opportunities, service-learning initiatives, and
youth-led community conversations. The CYAC is a group of young people interacting with the Rochester
Police Department, working together to foster positive relationships and trust. The CYAC brings a youth
perspective to the table and fosters discussion and understanding between the police department and youth
on current local, national, and world topics.

The Center for Teen Empowerment, Inc., according to their website, "employs youth to create and
implement initiatives that positively influence their peers and create real, meaningful changes in their
communities. Teen Empowerment hires core groups of youth leaders to work in their own neighborhoods,
helping them develop the skills they need to identify pressing issues in their communities, amid racism,
poverty, and violence in rapidly changing cities, and tap into their own and their communities' strengths to
create positive change."

6. Officer training programs that reflect community values and build trust
The RPD is continuously striving to better serve the community through progressive programs, training, and
community engagement. Officers work side by side with faith-based community groups to identify training
needs and possible deficiencies.

IV. RPD Community-Oriented Leadership, Culture and Accountability

New Leadership plans put in place by the recently-appointed Chief of Police via her 90-day plan is setting the
stage for change. An examination and realignment of the overall culture requires changes in leadership and a
collaboration of efforts to align hiring, promotion, and the organization's cultural values. Police and
government leadership must reject any association where police leaders set in motion dominance,
demeaning behaviors, disrespect, and abuse of power. Overall, a culture that transcends the challenges to a
relational mindset of fostering community-oriented leadership is needed. Once there is relational alignment,
holding employees accountable will follow.

A. Community-oriented Culture in the RPD

There is a gap between RPD's sworn officers and the people they serve. This gap is reflected in the fact that
87% of officers are white, while just 47% of Rochesterians are white; 87% of officers are men, while just 48%
of Rochesterians are men; and, 94% of officers live outside of the city. Despite many policy changes and the
federal consent decree, this gulf between Rochesterians and the officers sworn to protect them has persisted

25
and even grown.28 These few statistics provide some context for the challenge faced by the RPD leadership in
fostering and bolstering a community-oriented culture within the RPD.

The Mayor is working toward addressing this challenge through introducing new leadership to the RPD. The
department is currently being led by a new Police Chief and Executive Deputy Police Chief. This new
leadership team seeks to further the work of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing,29 created through an
Executive Order by President Obama in 2014, which leads with a philosophy that includes a sense of humility
and empathy and sets the stage for adopting community-oriented policing leadership. In November 2020, the
RPD released a Violence Reduction Plan (See Appendix B). Within this plan, the RPD community policing
philosophy is stated as follows:

The men and women that represent the Rochester Police Department (RPD) are committed to community
policing. Our Community Policing Philosophy sets in motion the need for Police Officers to become familiar
with community members within their problem-solving policing areas and to carve out positive relationships
while working to address crime. It relies on our ability to incorporate Scanning, Analysis, Response, and
Assessment (SARA) to manage crime reduction, enhance community engagement; and advance public safety
initiatives.

• Our community policing approach is balanced', and the Rochester Police Department members,
specifically the officers, must shoulder the responsibility offocusing on positive non-enforcement
contacts with the community while also (when necessary) address crime concerns
® Community policing calls for officers to be proactive, embrace community educational outreach, use
historical data, incorporate technology, and leverage partnerships and human intelligence.

Using Police Officers1 experience, combined with the technology used to analyze crime patterns, the RPD aims
to use evidence-based practices to address crime to improve quality of life.

Implementing a community policing approach means that the officers of the RPD are responsible for focusing
on reducing crime while enhancing positive interaction in the community. Community policing calls for
officers to be proactive, embrace community educational outreach, use historical data, incorporate
technology, and leverage partnerships and human intelligence. It also calls for effective strategies that bridge
the recognized disconnect between the community members and police department by working as
collaborative problem-solving partners.

Additionally, RPD is moving toward "Problem-oriented Policing." Training took place on November 14, 2020
led by Charles Katz, Ph.D., Director for the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety at Arizona
State University. All patrol captains that maintain Problem-Oriented-Policing areas were trained on the SARA
Model and new policing concepts through what was called "Transitioning from the Traditional Policing to
Problem-Oriented Policing."

B. Managing Biases in the RPD

Fostering community-oriented policing hinges on an agency's ability to minimize workplace and out of work­
place biases. An initial approach is to provide training that creates awareness where employees recognize
that biases exist and that we all share them. This initial step took place in 2017. Rochester Police Department
trained 679 Police Officers on a four (4) hour block of Implicit Bias training.

28 http://rochester.indvmedia.org/node/148045: https://vvwvv.democratandchi-onicle.com/storv/news/2015/01/21/police-
diveristv-minoritv-rochester-monroe-countv-lovely-warren/22133689/
29 https://cops.usdoi.gov/Ddf/taskforce/taskforce finalreport.pdf

26
In 2018, a total of 681 sworn employees received procedural justice training (an 8-hour block). This means
that over the period of 2017 and 2018, over 90% of the police department's sworn-uniformed Police Officers
received this training. There's no doubt this training is evidence the department fostered the necessary
components of community-oriented policing. The department would be remiss if they did not point out that
there was over a two-year gap in the training; however, the training leaders have identified those who did
not receive the training, and there are current measures in place to get 100% compliance.

Whether or not four hours of implicit bias training is enough to shore-up what is needed to foster effective
community relationships is being reviewed by the new leadership of the RPD as well as the RASE Commission.

C. Leadership Training
Currently, the process to be promoted in the RPD is primarily based on a civil service process. While this is
the current practice for growing a leadership team, fostering community-oriented leadership needs to go
beyond civil service testing. This is an area recognized by the interim Chief as needing improvement in the
RPD. The Chiefs strategies for ensuring that the RPD's cultural norms and informal processes reflect the
formal rules and policies are through leadership training, rewarding ethical conduct, and selecting formal and
informal ethical leaders for special assignments. Leadership training prepares staff members with skills that
they can utilize to listen to community members and strategize on problem solving and relationship building.

Under General Municipal Law 209-q (la), NYS Department of Criminal Justice Services designed a curriculum
for the course in police supervision. DCJS mandates first line supervisors to attend the three-week training
program within one year of being promoted, barring exigent circumstances (military deployments, on-duty
injury). Furthermore, upon initial promotion, the Rochester Police Department requires all sergeants and
lieutenants to participant in a five-day field training program specific to their duties. A basic overview of both
training programs consists of the role of a supervisor, community relations and contemporary police issues
(e.g., mental health issues, hate crimes, domestic violence, and child protective services).

D. Accountability
Accountability is essential for a strong institutional culture and for mutual trust between the community and
the police. Much of the current unrest across the country is rooted in a belief that some police departments
tolerate abuse of authority, including excessive force and other misconduct or adhere to practices that are
inconsistent with community values. In the long run, this belief will harm Police Officers as well as degrade
public safety.

The responsibility of tracking and reviewing uses of force and identifying misconduct, is shared by every
supervisor within the RPD. Specifically, RPD has an established internal affairs unit, the Professional
Standards Section (PSS), which is responsible for investigating complaints of police actions or misconduct
originating from any source. There are six (6) Sergeants and one (1) Lieutenant assigned to PSS, who are
selected to the position based on their professional history, supervisory experience, and ability to conduct
impartial and objective investigations of complaints of official misconduct. In addition to investigating
complaints, the PSS is also responsible for conducting civil claim investigations for the Corporation Counsel,
the administrative review of fleet vehicle accident investigations, and conducting other investigations as
directed by the Chief of Police.

Upon completion of a PSS investigation, all cases are sent through the respondent officer's chain of command
for further review and supervisory findings, while contemporaneously being reviewed by the Civilian Review
Board (CRB) for investigative thoroughness, objectiveness and independent case findings. In accordance with
the City of Rochester's Charter, the CRB, which consist of volunteer members of the community who are
trained in arbitration and police policy and tactics, is responsible for reviewing completed internal
investigations of all cases involving allegations that if proven would constitute a crime, unnecessary force, or
biased policing. The CRB can conduct voluntary interviews of officers, complainants, and witnesses, as well as

27
send investigations back to PSS that they believe is incomplete or requires additional interviews to be
conducted by PSS. The CRB has the authority to vote as a group on the PSS conclusion and prepare a report
of findings for the Chief of Police with dissenting opinions if a unanimous conclusion is not reached. Within
their reported findings, the CRB may recommend changes or review of policy and procedures, recommend
departmental training to the Chief of Police, or they could recommend a case be referred to the Attorney
General or District Attorney's Office (See RPD General Order 320, and PSS Manual). According to the UCLM,
the problem with the CRB only having the authority to review the work done by PSS diminishes the
effectiveness of the CRB because the Chief can overrule them.

Additionally, an officer's uses of force, citizen-generated complaints, and sustained findings of misconduct
are topics of discussion during annual performance reviews. However, the annual performance assessment
does not relieve supervisors of the responsibility to address performance issues as they are identified. (See
RPD General Order 207). Supervisors can mandate or submit a request for additional training for those
officers whose use of force techniques are viewed as questionable due to reasons analogous to misfeasance;
however, additional training does not preclude further discipline for those officers whose questionable uses
of force are determined to be the result of malfeasance or general misconduct (See RPD General Order 301 &
335). The RPD also expects officers to understand that they have a legal obligation and departmental duty to
intervene when witnessing another officer engaged in general misconduct (See RPD Rules and Regulations).

The RPD indicates that they have a clear and transparent process for investigating reports of misconduct, as
well as defining the authority and responsibility delegated to departmental supervisors for the maintenance
of discipline. (See RPD General Order 301, 305, 310, 315, 320 & 325, and PSS Manual). The RPD takes
seriously the responsibility of issuing appropriate disciplinary measures against officers who are found to
have engaged in actions of misconduct. In accordance with NYS Civil Service Law (NYSCSL), the Chief of Police
as the Appointing Authority, has the ability to impose discipline in accordance with NYSCSL and Taylor Law30
regarding collective bargaining agreements (See RPD General Order 301, 305, 320 & 325; RPD Rules and
Regulations; RPD current CBA 2016-19; and PSS Manual).

According to the UCLM, the public has lost confidence in the civilian complaint process and, as a result, it is
seldom used. Despite changes to the process in 2012, it is reported that complainants still have little
feedback, the process is slow, and results are sometimes not reported back to the complainants. UCLM
reports that the interview process with PSS is done in an aggressive accusative manner which seems designed
to discourage people from continuing the process. Complainants, who are already feeling violated by the
police, report that officers handle the complaint with what feels like an interrogation. People who have gone
through the complaint process have used the word dehumanizing to describe the way PSS investigates.

1. Identifying, Reviewing, and Tracking Use of Force and Misconduct

RPD defines deadly physical force as "physical force which, under the circumstances in which it is used, is
readily capable of causing death or other serious physical injury." The elucidation of this definition means
that irrespective of whether the force used resulted in death or physical injury (i.e., "near miss"), the mere
fact that force was applied must be reviewed and investigated as a use of force event. (See RPD General
Order 335 & 340).

The RPD reviews all uses of force, including any applications of deadly physical force. All force used, whether
on-duty or off-duty, requires an officer to immediately notify their immediate supervisor of the incident, and
document their actions in the form of a Subject Resistance Report (SRR) (See RPD General Order 335). An
internal review process is initiated once an officer notifies their supervisor that they engaged in an
application of force. The supervisor is required to respond to the scene of the incident immediately, where

30 The Taylor Law is Article 14 of the New York State Civil Service Law, which defines the rights and limitations of unions
for public employees in New York State.
28
he or she will ensure medical attention is provided for any injured party. The supervisor will then ensure that
photos, a neighborhood check, and documentation is prepared for review. The completed SRR is reviewed
by the supervisor and sent for further review through the officer's chain of command and to identify any
need for additional training. If it is determined an officer engaged in misconduct when utilizing force,
information is provided to PSS to initiate a formal investigation into the officer's actions. A citizen's
complaint would also trigger PSS to begin a formal investigation surrounding an officer's application of force.
(See RPD General Order 335 & 310).

The findings and the PSS case package are presented to the Chief of Police for review, during which Senior
Command Staff (i.e., Deputy Chiefs, Commanders, etc.) are able to weigh in and provide experiential insight
to assist the Chief in making a final disciplinary decision. Upon completion of the Chief of Police's final
determination, all investigative outcomes are reported to the complainant via certified mail and/or
telephonic means. Investigative findings are published in the annual PSS report, which is made available to
the public, via the department's website and open data portal. This multifaceted approach of investigative
case review, aids in ensuring cases are properly inspected and evaluated by the respondent officer's chain of
command, while also providing civilian oversight and perspective. (See RPD General Order 301, 305, & 325;
RPD current CBA 2016-19; and PSS Manual)

Cases involving the application of deadly physical force, or alleged misconduct that, if proven, would
constitute a crime, are sent to the District Attorney and/or the NYS Attorney General's Office for
prosecutorial review and findings. (See RPD General Order 301 & 340; and PSS Manual)

The PSS maintains RPD's official disciplinary records through a records management system that keeps an
officer index of all sustained disciplinary findings, as well as civil suits lodged against individual officers.
When an officer is found to have acted in an inappropriate manner, discipline and additional training is
imposed against the officer using a progressive discipline method. Progressive discipline is the process of
using increasingly severe steps or measures when an employee fails to correct a problem after being given a
reasonable opportunity to do so. (See RPD General Order 301, 305, & 325; RPD Rules and Regulations; RPD
current CBA 2016-19; and PSS Manual).

The RPD also relies on technology to identify the potential for misconduct. The RPD uses an Early
Intervention System called IAPRO, a databased management tool which is designed to identify personnel
whose performance exhibits potential problems; it is a tool to provide early interventions, usually counseling
or training, to correct those performance problems. The purpose of this system is to identify personnel with
performance problems, not to identify problem personnel. (See PSS Manual).

2. Transparency
The statute, section 50-a of the New York Civil Rights Law, adopted in 1976, prohibiting access to personnel
and misconduct records of Police Officers was repealed in June 2020 by state lawmakers. Current events
have prompted conversations and challenges involving this statute; however courses of action remain within
the scope of attorneys and city government leadership tasked with making decisions. Police unions will
provide a perspective on these matters based on direction from their members. It is important to recognize
that the release of an individual's information that is not adequately redacted and not accurate can create
legal challenges and, in some cases, officer safety issues. On the other hand, transparency is essential when
there are allegations of Use of Force and unlawful arrest. These issues must be considered (legally) before a
final decision for law enforcement decides. Once determined, the frequency of release can be determined.

Monthly Integrity Bulletins, which include the circumstance that led to an officer's dismissal, are posted for
the purposes of keeping officers aware of occurrences. This is done after a case has been adjudicated. These
monthly bulletins allow for transparency while also allowing the data to be used to train Police Officers.

29
3. Citizen Oversight and Other External Accountability
In 1992 the City of Rochester created the Civilian Review Board (CRB) to review internal police investigations
when a civilian alleges that a Police Officer used excessive force or committed a crime. As stated above, the
CRB is composed of volunteer members of the community who are trained in arbitration and police policy
and tactics and are responsible for reviewing completed internal investigations of all cases involving
allegations that if proven would constitute a crime, unnecessary force, or biased policing. (See RPD General
Order 320, and PSS Manual).

In addition to the work of the CRB, in 2019, legislation was proposed, and later enacted, to form a civilian-led
police oversight board, the Police Accountability Board (PAB). According to the PAB's website, this is a part of
City government dedicated to helping Rochesterians reimagine public safety by ensuring public accountability
and transparency over the powers exercised by sworn officers of the Rochester Police Department. The
Board is composed of nine city residents and currently has one full-time staff member, its Executive Director.
The legal authority exercised by PAB is still under legal review, via pending litigation.

In the Police Accountability Board, Rochester has the foundation for becoming a national model for holding
the police accountable. The Police Accountability Board has a robust set of legal powers that can allow it to
hold the RPD accountable. The Board has the power to create a justice system that fairly and transparently
prosecutes officer misconduct. It has the power to reveal the RPD's practices and priorities to the public. It
has the power to canvass everyday Rochesterians so the City understands their public safety priorities. And it
has the power to create disciplinary rules that ensure those priorities help govern the RPD's operations. If
exercised with the proper financial and staffing support, these powers can help transform Rochester into a
safer, more just city.31

Sixty (60) days after the hiring of the PAB Executive Director and after the PAB adopts procedural rules
necessary to conduct disciplinary hearings, the CRB shall no longer exists. However, with the Locust Club's
lawsuit pending against the City, the PAB is currently unable to conduct disciplinary hearings into officer
misconduct. Until those powers come back, the PAB will refer all complaints seeking disciplinary action
against individual RPD officers to the CRB for resolution.

Lastly, Rochester's City Council has an oversight role in the RPD. City Council has subpoena power and has
exercised that ability (both formally and informally) to review PSS investigative findings and to initiate an
investigative review regarding employees' actions.

V. Data, Technology and Transparency

Transparency is one of the four pillars of procedural justice and is critical to ensuring accountability. Without
a full picture of law enforcement policies, procedures, and activity, the public cannot meaningfully evaluate
the performance of law enforcement. Even a well-functioning department risks losing public confidence
when it does not engage in meaningful transparency.

Policing has changed drastically over the past few decades. In just the last decade alone, the Rochester Police
Department has made significant changes to better align with the continuously evolving practices seen at
national levels through the adoption of records management and data analytics, a patrol reorganization to
better serve the community, body-worn cameras as well as other proactive policing experiments. It should be
noted that, though these technologies and adaptations are meant to better the experience for RPD and the
citizens of Rochester, there is the possibility that these more advanced systems can increase workload for
individual officers.

31 https://wvvw.ecode360.com/35278812
30
Demographic information that detects racial disparities and biases is essential to increasing public trust,
improving police training, guiding policy and procedure, and monitoring compliance. Data collection on
violence, weapons, injuries, use of force, use of non-approved tactics such as chokeholds and elbow strikes,
arrests, and other serious incidents is essential.

A. Open Data
Data collection and transparency provides critical information that the City, the RPD, and the community
need to make informed decisions for assessing and improving the operations of the RPD and enhance
accountability.

Typically, data collected by law enforcement has served only as a repository for official records of activity. It is
commonly used internally for operational response and assessment and externally for statistical reporting.
Most law enforcement data are transactional, describing an event with a time dimension, a numerical value,
and referring to one or more objects. Data captured is (1) created by personnel, gathered by employees to
record business processes or (2) generated by technology, produced without the need for human interaction.

Data collected by the RPD generally falls into eight major categories: calls for service, crimes, arrests, traffic
and street stops, uses of force, case management, internal policy and procedures, and digital media. While
this is not intended to be a complete list of all possible data sources, these groups do contain the largest sets
of data maintained, at least in part, by RPD. Each of these categories include data that documents the routine
activities of department personnel including citizen-police interactions, service-level response, and
procedural standards. Data captured includes, but is not limited to, specific information on people, places,
event circumstances, and criminal and non-criminal activities.

Since the early professionalization of the field, policing agencies have been methodically recording, storing,
and analyzing data, however until recently this predominately occurred through handwritten reporting and
manual records review. In the 1990's commercially available computer hardware and software began to
reshape the law enforcement data landscape for larger agencies while small and mid-sized agencies were
slower to adopt, primarily due to budgetary restrictions. The technological advances of the last two decades
have continued to outpace the ability of many law enforcement agencies, like RPD, to acquire leading-edge
standards. However, these advancements have also reduced the barriers to incremental technology
improvement for agencies. Often, these financial limitations have resulted in agencies implementing a
solution that focuses on a single need (e.g. computer aided dispatch, records management, case
management systems, etc.). RPD is no exception. Over time, these single solution technology enhancements
have transitioned to legacy applications that act as silos of information. This presents challenges:

• Data reliability issues at multiple collection points.

• Uneven adoption of governance, quality assurance, and security.
• Data interoperability barriers.
• Training and data literacy gaps.

In 2017, the RPD established the Office of Business Intelligence (OBI) to being to address the data obstacles in
the department. The primary objective was to leverage police data sets to support evidence-based decision
making. OBI began a process-oriented approach to managing RPD data through standardization, automation,
and self-service delivery of existing datasets throughout the organization and externally to the public. OBI
launched the RPD Open Data Portal as a public platform for exploring and downloading open data,
discovering, and building applications, and engaging to solve important local issues. Datasets and tools
available on the portal include all Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Part I crimes, public crime maps, agency
personnel demographics, homicide and shooting dashboards, analysis products, and a searchable index of all
department general orders, standard operating procedures, and training bulletins. The OBI maintains this
free, publicly available online repository to publish open datasets, making them available for both view and
31
download. All the published datasets are placed into the public domain in a machine-readable format, with
no restrictions or requirements placed on their use. Appropriate metadata for each dataset also supplies
information about data fields' content and meaning to enable appropriate and accurate use. Additionally, the
raw datasets are enhanced with both narrative content and statistical and geospatial analytics to provide
deeper insight, narrative, and context around the data's collection, operational and strategic uses, and
analytical meaning.

B. Automated Systems and Technologies

1. Technology Procurement and Maintenance
There are multiple ways in which technology is currently acquired by the RPD. While most of the PRD's
technology hardware, software and maintenance is provided by the City's Information Technology (IT)
Department, there are also some technologies used that are specific to police work. The acquisition of new
technologies usually involves research as well as the solicitation of stakeholder input and, occasionally,
community input. Currently, technology is not analyzed for biases prior to acquisition. While the RPD anti­
bias policy governs employee actions with using technology, examining the potential for bias inherent to the
technology is not currently practiced prior to acquiring that technology.

RPD follows up the acquisition of technology with the creation of policies for the end user and basic
administrative functions for each system the RPD implements.

2. Transparency and Information Management/Protection

RPD currently uses the software IAPRO which is an early warning professional standards software program
designed to monitor specific criteria of an officer's activities to identify potential problems.32 RPD uses IAPRO
to maintain data and reports pertaining to use of force, firearm discharges, and motor vehicle
accidents/pursuits that involve RPD personnel. It is also used to track remedial training that RPD members
receive, and log administrative inquiries and complaints that involve RPD members. Each RPD member has
their own "profile" where this data is stored so it can be accessed quickly by those who have specific
permissions to do so. When investigations are undergoing command review, supervisors use IAPRO to view
the case file. Supervisors can research their team members so they can look at their past use of force history,
training, and address any alerts that may be triggered based on specific thresholds that are set within the
system. This is part of an early intervention system where a supervisor may see a pattern with an employee
and be able to address the situation early on to prevent problems from leading to formal complaints.

The RPD relies on the City's IT Department and the Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL") for guiding the
balance of transparency and protection of private information. The Freedom of Information Law, Article 6 of
the NYS Public Officers Law, provides the public right to access records maintained by government agencies.
"Record" means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any
physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda,
opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters,
microfilms, computer tapes or disks, rules, regulations or codes.

The RPD utilizes technology in their investigative process, which often involves sensitive matters and personal
information. Disclosing this information could compromise and investigation or share personal information
of the people involved in the investigation, therefore the RPD has polices that addresses when information
can be disclosed. This policy is RPD's FOIL procedure policy which outlines when information can and cannot
be released to the FOIL requestor.

In March 2021, the City announced that the FOIL function is moving from the City Communications Office to
the Law Department, similar to other cities. This will provide for increased accountability. In addition, the City

32 https://www.iapro.com
32
is hiring additional staff within the Law Department to help facilitate the process of disclosing public records
through the FOIL process. FOIL requests have dramatically increased over the last few years requiring an
increase in staff capacity to achieve compliance with the NYS law.

C. Body-Worn Cameras
In 2015, to improve police-community relations, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, working in conjunction
with the RPD, created the RPD Body-Worn Camera (BWC) initiative. The City of Rochester engaged in
extensive research on equipment, data management, policies, and community involvement for successful
deployment of the program. All Rochester Police Lieutenants, Sergeants and officers presently assigned to
patrol Sections are equipped with BWCs. There are currently about 500 BWCs assigned to patrol personnel.

To ensure success of this initiative, the RPD entered into partnerships internal to City Flail, such as IT and the
Law Department, as well as external partnerships with the Offices of the District Attorney and Public
Defender, and the Civilian Review Board. Most significantly, the program included a strong partnership with
the community by engaging a variety of community and neighborhood organizations during the
implementation phase. A series of community meetings was held to get feedback from the community on
how the BWC program was adminstered. This included feedback on policy, body-worn camera use, and
expectations from these community organizations. This feedback helped in drafting the current policy.

In November, 2017, the City of Rochester formalized a process for ongoing community input into the BWC
program by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Coalition for Police Reform (CPR). CPR
is a consortium of community groups led by United Christian Leadership Ministry (UCLM). This MOU
established regular meetings between CPR and the RPD, as well as making other commitments of
cooperation between the City, RPD, and CPR. A CPR subcommittee, the Community Justice Advisory Board
(CJAB), was formed for this purpose and has been meeting quarterly with RPD since January, 2018. The CJAB
is made up of citizens that belong to the UCLM. Some of the board members include Rev. Lewis Stewart and
members of the New York Civil Liberties Union. This board regularly makes suggestions on changes to the
BWC Program that may be used to make policy changes. UCLM reports, however, that RPD has resisted
attempts to obtain information which would provide insight into the BWC program. Further, they have often
answered requests for information with answers that are misleading or false. Attempts by the CJAB to get
BWC footage through the FOIL process has resulted in more than 75% of their requests being denied.

The RPD continues to develop policy that directs the use of BWCs by its members. These policies can be
found in the RPD BWC Manual which is used for training and implementation of the BWC program. Based on
comments and suggestions by RPD personnel, community organizations and other stakeholders, this manual
continues to be reviewed and amended on an as-needed basis. Policies address such things as:

Officers are required to activate and record all activities, and contact with persons, while performing,
or when present at, any enforcement activity (e.g., arrest and prisoner transports, pursuits,
detentions/stops of persons and vehicles, Use of Force).
When interacting with the public for any non-enforcement activities, unless a mandatory or standard
event arises which must be recorded, officers are not required to record activities, but may do so if
they believe it serves a legitimate law enforcement purpose.
Officers are encouraged to inform persons they are recording with a BWC unless unsafe to do so.
Civilians may request to stop recording unless mandatory recording in required.
Officers will not record while in the locker room or any personal, non-police conversations with other
members or other City employees that do not occur during an official police duty. Officers will not
record while attending internal RPD meetings, other law enforcement meetings, or meetings with
prosecutors.

33
 The penalties for non-compliance include "Progressive Discipline" (i.e., verbal, memorandum,
command discipline).
Requirements include retention times which vary according to offense or incident.
Footage is made available to officers for official duties, including conducting criminal investigations,
conducting supervisory duties, preparing for testimony, assisting with training, or other official RPD
duties as authorized by departmental policy or by competent authority.
Footage is made available to the public in accordance with NYS Freedom of Information Law (Public
Officer's Law, Article 6; SS 84-90).

VI. Recruiting and Supporting Excellent Personnel

Staffing and personnel management is one of the most critical responsibilities of law enforcement leaders
and the communities which they protect and serve.33 The RPD must therefore have robust strategies for
recruitment, hiring, and retention of officers whose diversity reflects the communities being served. Law
enforcement agencies should also design and oversee training and wellness programs that aim to ensure the
safety of officers and the public while reinforcing relationships of trust between police departments and their
communities.

A. Recruiting a Diverse Workforce

The RPD sworn personnel is approximately 87% White, 11% Black, and the remaining 2% is another racial or
ethnic identity. The Rochester community, however, is approximately 47% White, 41% Black, with the
remaining 12% being another race or combination of races, according to the 2019 American Community
Survey of the US Census. In addition, the RPD civilian personnel is approximately 74% White, 21% Black, and
the remaining 5% is another racial or ethnic identity.

Since 1975, the RPD has been operating under a court-ordered federal consent decree from the United States
Department of Justice. The decree was part of a settlement involving racial discrimination in the RPD hiring
practices. The decree requires that 25% of the sworn officers of the RPD are "minority persons." The term
"minority" is defined in the decree as "a person who is black, Spanish-surnamed, or a member of some other
nonwhite minority group." The RPD is not meeting this minimum standard set in 1975, and the standards of
today seek to try to match the police-force demographics with the demographics of the population they
serve.

Currently recruitment efforts are focused on attracting candidates who are reflective of the city
demographics. All candidates must pass the police exam administered by NYS, a physical agility test, and a
background check. Many candidates find it difficult to pass all three of these components of the hiring
requirements. The background check is rigorous in that it requires a review of previous criminal convictions,
prior drug usage, medical history, and "psychological failures" (NYS requirement), including not telling the
truth.

The current recruitment and screening process is not successful in advancing diversity into the ranks of
serving the community as a Police Officer. This suggests that new marketing and recruiting needs to be
developed to seek and hire the diversity that reflects the city demographics. Given the nature of policing in
Black and Brown communities, there is a negative perception of police interaction and one component of
combatting that perception is with increased diversity among Police Officers.

33 United States Department of Justice. (2015). Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century
Policing, https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf

34
B. Supporting Officer Wellness and Well-being
The RPD has high expectations of our law enforcement officers and recognizes that their health and
wellbeing is linked to the reform and community outcomes sought. Caring for Police Officers and supporting
them in their work in a holistic way is a vital piece in bringing about reform that changes culture—from the
existing paradigm of police as "warrior" to police as "servant-protector".34

Many factors can negatively influence officer wellness and/or exacerbate existing struggles an officer may be
experiencing. These factors can range from sleep disorders, sleep deprivation, and sleep apnea, to critical
incident trauma, organizational stress, depression, and alcohol use/abuse. And all of these factors are
negatively affected by lack of exercise, poor nutrition, high cortisol levels, and heart disease. Within the
President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015), Pillar 6 is Officer Wellness and Safety. As a result of
the findings of the task force, the 2017 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) was
signed into law. The LEMHWA officially recognized the need for departments to provide ongoing support for
officers' well-being and mental health.

The RPD currently participates in the City of Rochester's Employee Assistance Program for providing mental
and emotional support to officers, when needed. The RPD also engages with a contracted physician, as well
as the Flower City Chaplains Corp, to specifically respond to and assist with mental health issues. These are
offered as confidential programs.

VII. Reform Recommendations

The preceding sections describe and, in some cases, evaluate the current operations of the RPD and present
some of the evolving changes that have recently occurred or are underway to improve the community
interactions with the RPD and the overall administration of public safety.

There has been and continues to be substantial community engagement and input into how the
administration of public safety should evolve in Rochester. Refer to Appendix A for a list of all the community
engagement activities that have contributed to the following recommendations and the ongoing changes
already underway in the organization and implementation of public safety service to the Rochester
community.

It should be noted that this plan - the fulfilment of Governor Cuomo's Executive Order 203 - is an important
next step in Rochester's efforts to reform police policies and operations in the community. However, much
work remains to be done. This plan contains recommendations for immediate changes as well as further
study of specific issues. The community, including the key stakeholders involved in developing this plan,
must continue to work together on challenging issues well beyond the delivery of this plan.

A. Accountability
1. Petition the State of New York by June 30, 2021 to amend the Taylor Law and the Triborough
Amendment35 to allow the City to terminate RPD personnel immediately for cause and enable the City to
develop a completely new collective bargaining agreement.

34 Specific Reform Proposals, United Christian Leadership Ministry of WNY, Inc., December 2020, p. 20
33 Section 209-a.l(e) of the Taylor Law, known as the "Triborough Amendment," makes it an improper practice for a
public employer, or its agents, to deliberately "refuse to continue all the terms of an expired agreement until a new
agreement is negotiated."
35
2. Release comprehensive statistics by June 30,2021 and quarterly thereafter on the RPD's internal
investigations, as required by law.
3. By September 30, 2021, determine the amount of resources needed and allocate accordingly to release,
as soon as possible, an online portal that will allow the public to review the disciplinary histories of
individual officers, including comprehensive information on officer disciplinary history in compliance with
Section 86(6) and (7) of the Public Officers Law. 36&37 Note: Litigation, currently underway, will provide
guidance on this topic in coming months.
4. Create strict disciplinary rules within 60 days of the development of new policies banning discriminatory
enforcement patterns, (e.g., broken window theory, structural racism, racial profiling, stop and frisk,
pretextual stops, etc.) and enforce those rules using data gathering methods that reveal the
enforcement patterns of individual officers. Utilize data that includes demographic information, for the
purpose of officer accountability. Hold those accountable that violate disciplinary rules.
5. The City shall take whatever legal and policy steps are necessary to fully protect, support, and ensure
cooperation with the PAB's investigations into individual RPD officers as well as the RPD's policies,
practices, and procedures.
6. Ensure that the RPD "After Action Reviews," which is completed when there is a major event (e.g.,
serious injury, in-custody death) are being effectively used by April 15, 2021. This review process
documents what happened, how it happened, who needs to be notified, and what changes might be
needed in policy/practice.
7. Advocate for NYS to institute a statewide police officer licensing or decertification program to ensure
disciplined officers' records are known by potential future employers.

B. Community Engagement and Programming

1. For the fiscal year 2020-2021 and thereafter, the City will commit and advocate for more resources and
financial support for Mental Health Programs, Youth and Recreation Programs, Job Development,
Pathways to Peace, Conflict Resolution Programs, Rise Up Rochester, Roc the Peace, UCLM's Light the
Way, Save our Youth, Squash the Beef, and other evidence-based programs that include oversight,
evaluation, transparency, and training so that programs that are effective can be expanded and
improved.

2. For the fiscal year 2020-2021, implement and support programs that provide increased and effective
community engagement. Work with leaders of existing programs to evaluate effectiveness and reach out
to participants in these programs to see if they can generate ideas for increasing impact. Assess how the
RPD and the City can offer to help build trust, transparency, and legitimacy within and through these
programs. Help the program leaders with their volunteerism capacity through guidance on defining
metrics for them to use in their own measure of success. Some of these programs include:

• Clergy on Patrol

36 Pursuant to Public Officers Law Sections 86(6) and 86(7), law enforcement disciplinary records are defined as those
created in furtherance of a law enforcement disciplinary proceeding. A law enforcement disciplinary proceeding is
defined as the commencement of any investigation and any subsequent hearing or disciplinary action. Accordingly,
complaints or investigations that did not result in a hearing or disciplinary action are not encompassed within the
definition of law enforcement disciplinary records set forth in the Freedom of Information Law. Additionally, the
Committee on Open Government has long opined that disclosure of employee misconduct allegations that are not
sustained or do not result in discipline would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. In light of the foregoing,
there are no records that respond to your request for disciplinary records.
37 See Appendix C for alternative opinion from the Rochester Police Accountability Board.
36
 Community Volunteer Response Team
Police and Citizens Together against Crime
Police Citizens Interaction Committee
Police Training Advisory Committee
ROC Against Gun Violence Coalition
Attendance at Neighborhood Association Meetings
GIVE Program
UCLM Community Police Summits
UCLM Community Justice Advisory Board
Citizen's Police Academy
No Mas
Project TIPS
Other Community-led support groups and initiatives

3. By the end of 2021 calendar year, the City shall: release comprehensive data on its citizen surveillance
technology, such as traffic cameras, police surveillance cameras, and wiretap usage, as Rochester was found
by one recent survey to be the fifth-most surveilled city in the United States. Evaluate surveillance methods
and determine the effectiveness in solving serious crimes (defined as high class felonies, homicides, etc.).

C. Data, Technology and Transparency

Note - This Section is primarily concerned in investing in RPD's Office of Business Intelligence and making the
Open Data Portal more robust. There is widespread agreement on the importance of these two things, but
this process must also be transparent to the community. The recommendations in this Section regularly say
"to the extent possible" in reference to publishing data. There must be a transparent, community-involved
process that clearly communicates what data sets can and cannot be shared.

1. Operationalize and implement the use of data to:

• inform leadership and the community of crime trends and causal factors;
• engage the community in collaborative problem-solving;
• drive strategies to prevent crime, address crimes in progress, and to develop a response to trends
and patterns;
• ensure equity in the application of public safety;
• identify training needs and programming;
• properly assess and evaluate operational responses, organizational changes, technology use and
implementation and officer wellness and,
• make budgetary decisions about the organization.
2. Leverage RPD's existing technology and personnel to create a data-first culture. One which:
• builds services on shared resources;
• fosters efficient collaboration;
• works seamlessly with modern visualization and analysis tools;
• allows user focus on function and outcomes, removing technology lock-in;
• lowers the barriers (cost and complexity) for integrations; and,
• provides measures for data usage and civic engagement.
3. Allocate funds to boost support for the RPD Office of Business Intelligence and other citywide data
analytics departments to ensure accurate data is released in a timely and accessible manner.
4. Mandate the collection and regular reporting of demographic information, allowed by law, of all
individuals that officers interact with in arrests, traffic investigations, street stops, personnel complaints,

37
 and uses of force.38 This data should be included in the RPD Annual Report, published on the RPD Open
Data Portal. Demographic information can be utilized to inform leaders about biases related to the
police, federal, state, and city governmental policies and practices.
5. Expand the RPD Open Data Portal and data sharing with information on police-citizen interaction types,
demographics (i.e., age, gender, race) of people involved, type of response and whether force was used,
along with all other data that will allow Rochesterians to better understand the nature of police
response39, for the following:
• calls for service, including through 911, 311, and 211 calls;
• crimes, including low-level offenses ("Part II crimes"40);
• arrests;
• alternatives to arrest;
• traffic/street stops, including issuance of warnings for traffic violations;
• uses of force;
• officer discharges of a weapon;
• high-speed pursuits;
• fleet vehicle accidents;
• hate crimes;
• assaults on officers;
• firearms seized, including type, circumstance, origin, etc.;
• search warrants;
• investigative case management;
• internal policy and procedures; and,
• digital media.
6. Correlate the Open Data Portal's data listed above with community surveys to assess way police
approach and speak to individuals of color and the impact of the encounter on both the victim and the
community.
7. Include, on the Open Data Portal, to the extent available, if and how the RPD uses de-escalation tactics,
including information on: (1) hours spent training officers on de-escalation tactics; (2) percentage of
training devoted to de-escalation; (3) specific de-escalation tactics taught to officers; (4) what written and
verbal policies relating to de-escalation the RPD has issued.
8. Using the data collected and included on the Open Data Portal, assess the occurrences of "Stop and Frisk"
activities.
9. Include on the Open Data Portal, information on if and how the RPD uses "less-than-lethal" weaponry,
including information such as data on: (1) relevant training procedures; (2) spending on such weaponry;
(3) use and equipment rates; (4) related injuries; (5) the cost-benefit analyses the RPD uses to justify the

38 Demographic information is not a required field in New York State's electronic ticketing system (TRACS). This would
require a local policy that mandates demographic data be collected on the electronic traffic ticket, to the extent that the
information is provided by the individual.
39 Currently, the City is in the process of working with other agencies to be able to collect and provide this data, which
requires data-sharing agreements
40 The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program includes data from more than
18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies. The program has been
collecting crime statistics since 1930. The Rochester Police Department participates voluntarily and submits crime data
through the New York State UCR program. In the UCR program crimes are broken into two major categories: Part I Index
crimes (Violent: Murder, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assaults, Property: Burglary, Larceny, Motor Vehicle Theft) and Part
II crimes (all other offenses).
38
 training regarding, purchase of, and use of such weaponry; and (6) verbal and written instructions about
how to use such weaponry.
10. Include, on the Open Data Portal, to the extent available, past and present use of no-knock warrants,
including the rejection rates for no-knock warrant requests, claims against the city for personal injuries or
property damage linked to no-knock warrants, and statistics regarding raids involving no-knock warrants
that were executed at the wrong location.
11. Include on the Open Data Portal the number of citizen complaints to the PSS, their disposition, and the
time elapsed to disposition.
12. Include on the Open Data Portal, information on the training and directions officers receive regarding
whether and how to address low-level offenses ("Part II Crimes"). Conduct an assessment of all calls for
service and create a process for disclosing the percentage of officer time spent addressing these low-level
offenses.
13. Include, on the Open Data Portal, to the extent available, information on SWAT training and SWAT
activity, including the use of SWAT for hostage or active shooter situations, as opposed to search warrant
execution.
14. Explore the availability of historical crime data and determine the feasibility of including that on the Open
Data Portal.
15. Digitize officer training manuals and post them on the Open Data Portal. Include hours per training
session, how officer training is reinforced, how often officers face discipline for failing to follow training
rules, whether and how the RPD addresses race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ individuals, and religion, and
how training addresses on-the-job trauma.
16. Inform the community about revenue the City generates from traffic tickets and code enforcement,
demographics of those subjected to this kind of enforcement, the difference between what violations
people are ticketed for and what violations people are pleading to, and whether the City is using this kind
of enforcement to fill budget gaps.
17. Collaborate with other city agencies to comprehensively report data and information in a coordinated
way. These other agencies include the Emergency Communications Department, the City Information
Technology Department, Monroe County Sheriff, Monroe County District Attorney's Office, etc.
18. Create a dataset that includes RPD staffing and budget information, such as the historical size and budget
of the RPD, comparative data that allows Rochesterians to compare the RPD's operations and per-
resident staffing levels to other communities, and program-specific budget and staffing data that will
reveal the RPD's public safety priorities.
19. By the end of 2021 calendar year the City shall: utilize with an outside entity to anonymously survey
current and former officers who are Black and Brown, women, and from the LGBTQ community to
determine their experiences with oppression on the force; ask these populations what policies and
practices would (or would have) made their work healthier and free of racism, misogyny, homophobia,
and transphobia; and release anonymized aggregate data on how these officer populations are
disciplined, promoted, recruited, and terminated.
20. To the extent practicable, report on per-officer spending on trauma-related support, the rates at which
officers use trauma support, and the incidents of domestic violence, workplace harassment, and other
outcomes of untreated trauma; data on number of officers who claim disability for injuries stemming
from incidents where civilians were also injured; number of civil and criminal cases filed against officers,
along with case disposition and settlement data; number of cases where felony for causing an injury to an
officer was filed, nature of injuries to officers in such cases, and nature of injuries to civilians in such
cases.

39
21. By the end of 2021 the City shall create policies and data-release procedures that allow the public to
monitor the RPD's justifications for purchase and use of all its technologies, including ShotSpotter.
22. Improve the use and purchase of technology.
a. The Police Accountability Board shall analyze new technology for how it may cause or perpetuate
biases. While the RPD anti-bias policy governs employee actions with technology, many
technologies can augment human biases and exacerbate their impact on over-policed
communities.
b. Create policies and data-release procedures that allow the public to monitor the RPD's
justifications for, purchase of, and use of all its data collection and surveillance technologies,
including ShotSpotter.
c. Use the RPD's IAPRO early warning software to its fullest capacity to ensure any personnel
concerns are identified as quickly as possible and addressed. The corrective measures should
then be shared with the Police Accountability Board for follow up.
d. Recognizing the problems created by the City of Rochester's former red light camera program,
examine the use of any technology that will decrease the necessity for direct officer / citizen
interaction for enforcement purposes so long as any technology is universally deployed and does
not disproportionately impact one demographics of the City of Rochester.
e. Expand the City of Rochester's Blue-Light camera program, being mindful of future camera
placement and use that does not disproportionately impact Rochester's citizens.
f. Fully utilize a new feature of the City's IAPRO technology that would allow for use of force tactics
to be researched and publicly reported, which shall include what force tactics RPD officers are
using (including, but not limited to, breathing restrictions), how often those tactics are being
used, the racial and ethnic demographics of individuals those tactics are being used against, the
location of the incident, the written and verbal instructions that determine how officers choose
what tactics to use, when those tactics cause injuries, and whether the internal review process
that was conducted after the use of a given tactic.
23. Improve the use of body-worn cameras by the end of the 2021 calendar year.
a. Support UCLM's Community Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) to engage in on-going monitoring of
the utilization of the RPD's BWC program. This advisory board has been engaged in this task for
over three years and should continue with Mayoral support. The CJAB should also develop an
annual report of the BWC program, to be presented not only to the RPD, but to appropriate
community bodies.41
b. Using existing RPD funding, provide the training and resources to ensure officers use their
cameras as trained.
c. Measure the effectiveness of the BWC program, using agreed upon metrics such as:
® reduction in use-of-force incidents over time;
© reduction in citizen complaints over time;
© proven value of BWC footage in court cases; and
© surveys of participating officers and of the community itself.42
d. Find a new BWC vendor that can provide the technology necessary for improving the RPD's
ability to collect and use data from BWCs. Collecting the appropriate data in order to evaluate
the effectiveness and compliance with the Department's policies is obviously an important part
of the BWC program.

41 Reform Proposals, United Christian Leadership Ministry of WNY, Inc., December 2020, p. 29. (Modified through a
comment from Reverend Stewart, UCLM, on February 8, 2021.)
42 Reform Proposals, United Christian Leadership Ministry of WNY, Inc., December 2020, p. 31.
40
24. Allocate City-received Federal Forfeiture funds to purchase dash cameras, particularly those that have
video buffering and are activated automatically when vehicle lights or sirens are turned on, to both
capture what is often a contested point in a defendant's case and limit officer discretion. Adding dash
cameras would provide crucial additional evidence of what occurred.43 Adding dash cameras would also
require purchasing additional data storage capacity.
25. The City will take action to ensure the demilitarization of the Police Department, including but not limited
to, providing a breakdown of the military equipment the RPD possess, what capacity any City-owned
equipment is used, and further clarification of what constitutes military equipment, to better inform the
Council on future equipment purchases or acquisitions.

D. Fostering a Community-oriented Culture

1. Continue furthering the work of the Task Force on 21st Century Policing, which leads with a philosophy
that includes a sense of humility and empathy and sets the stage for adopting community-oriented
policing leadership.
2. Attempt to collect anonymous information from current and former officers to determine their
experiences with oppression on the force; ask these populations what policies and practices would (or
would have) made their work healthier and free of racism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia; and
release anonymized aggregate data on how these officer populations are disciplined, promoted,
recruited, and terminated.
3. By April 1, 2022, the City will fund policies and practices that begin to inoculate the RPD from systemic
oppression. These practices should include: educating officers using immersive training methods that
teach how systemic racism and other forms of structural oppression, as opposed to mere "bias" or
"prejudice," can influence policing practices; reinforcing this training throughout officers' careers; testing
officers on their knowledge and providing assistance as necessary; and, creating and enforcing
disciplinary rules that combat racism, misogyny, and homophobiav, including by terminating officers who
support white supremacist organizations. The City will actively screen for affiliations with white
supremacist groups, domestic terrorists, religious extremists, and other groups among Police Department
recruits and active members, and collaborate with the Federal government on this screening.
4. Monitor state and federal legislative actions that deal with officers who support or engage with hate
and/or extremist groups (e.g., white supremacist groups, domestic terrorists, religious extremists, and
other groups).

E. Officer Wellness
1. Proactively conduct routine wellness needs assessment surveys with RPD officers. Law enforcement
agencies and officers both need to have a much better understanding of many potentially deadly
concerns such as, cumulative career traumatic stress, PTSD, suicidal ideation, depression, and alcohol
abuse, amongst others. This process may start with a needs assessment survey to gauge specific needs of
officers. Using the survey, along with a program evaluation of the current program, the department can
begin to identify the needs of—and enhance—the existing wellness program. In addition to the
department's existing EAP, other mental health programs should be considered for implementation.
These programs need to be proactive and focus upon early intervention and early detection.
2. Conduct RPD fitness and annual psychological evaluations. The inherent stress and trauma associated
with a career in law enforcement contributes to high rates of alcoholism, substance abuse, domestic
violence, and suicide of police officers. Rochester has not been immune to the tragic loss of officers to
suicide. RPD officers need to be physically, emotionally and psychology well. To that end, the RPD, while

43 Executive Order 203 Report, Monroe County Public Defender's Office, March 1, 2021, p. 16
41
 being cognizant of the collective bargaining implications, should examine requiring officers to maintain
an agreed upon level of fitness. Furthermore, RPD should consider requiring officers to receive annual or
bi-annual psychological evaluations to determine their psychological and emotional well-being and
enhance peer support efforts and officer assistance programming.
3. By the end of 2021 calendar year, reallocate RPD funding to significantly increase funding and seek
additional outside resources training, monitoring, prevention, and response systems that protect officers,
their families, and the people they serve from officers' stress and trauma. The community should be
educated on what trauma, stress, and other mental health impacts officers have to experience by merely
doing their jobs - especially officers who are Black and Brown, women, and members of the LGBTQ
community. Officers carry heavy burdens and frequently deal with trauma. The statistics regarding officer
divorce, addiction, and other emotional issues are well known. De-escalating issues in their lives should
be at the core of de-escalation [training].44 The City should release data on per-officer spending on
trauma-related support, the rates at which officers use trauma support, and the incidents of domestic
violence, workplace harassment, and other outcomes of untreated trauma.
4. Conduct in-service training to familiarize officers with how all the dimensions of officers' lives are one
interdependent system and how deficiencies in any one dimension can create or exacerbate problems in
other dimensions. In-service training can help officers and their families not only identify, but also
problem-solve issues that hurt their overall wellness and well-being. These types of programs coincide
with the recommendations from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJA) report to Congress in 2019 regarding the 2017 Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act.
5. Consider Mindfulness Training for RPD officers as a wellness strategy.
Branded as Mindful Badge training by a former Police Lieutenant Goerling, this training has been studied
to understand wellbeing measures such as:
• The impact of a constant state of hyper-vigilance on officers;
• Cortisol awakening response;
• Health outcomes among Officers.
Mindful policing has the potential to transform the approach to officer wellness, while also impacting
police reform goals such as implicit bias training; de-escalation/Use of Force; maintaining empathy,
compassion and reverence for all of humanity/life. Mindful Badge studies show the following benefits,
and they show that continued practice is needed to sustain these benefits. In other words, outcomes
diminish if skills aren't practiced.
• significant increases in resilience, mental health and emotional intelligence;
• significant decreases in sleep disturbances, anger, fatigue, burnout and general stress;
• reduction in the levels of the stress hormone cortisol;
• Officers reported less difficulty with emotional regulation, organizational and operational
stress.45
6. Consider creating a wellness unit in the RPD. Another increasingly used program or initiative in
departments is the creation of a Wellness Unit in order to proactively assist officers with their wellness
and well-being. As an example, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) established a Wellness Unit in
2011. The SDPD's Wellness Unit consists of four full-time Officers and Sergeants with the goal of training
on—and connecting Officers with—services to improve their emotional and physical well-being. The
SDPD's Wellness unit also manages the Department's Peer Support Program, Police Chaplain Program,

44 Reform Proposals, United Christian Leadership Ministry of WNY, Inc., December 2020, p. 14.
45 Reform Proposals, United Christian Leadership Ministry of WNY, Inc., December 2020, pp. 19-20 •

42
 Alcohol/Substance Abuse Programs, and psychological services; and, provides instruction and services to
family members of Officers, as well as the Department's civilian employees.46
7. Consider appointing a Chief Resiliency Officer, similar to the program started by New Jersey Attorney
General Grewal. The Chief Resiliency Officer is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the New
Jersey Resiliency Program for Law Enforcement. This statewide program aims to help officers "to become
better equipped to handle the daily stress of police work that, when left unchecked, may lead to physical
ailments, depression, and burnout. "47
8. Promote peer support as an effective method to assist officers throughout their career, but more
importantly, following a traumatic event. Many officers may be hesitant to utilize outside counseling
services following a traumatic event, however many are willing to turn to their fellow officers to seek
support. Peer services have a significant and positive impact increasing officer morale and ameliorating
post-traumatic stress.48 Peer support services are supported and recommended by the Department of
Justice, the IACP, FLETC, Lexipol, as well as by Mental Health Professionals and Medical Doctors. In
addition, overwhelming majority of police wellness programs consist of peer support as a critical element
of their programs. For example, the Asher Model Seven Point Approach to Culture of Wellness developed
by the Pinole Police Department lists peer support as its third point of their program's seven-point star.49
9. Utilize Smartphone applications as an increasingly common method to assist Officers after a traumatic
event. An example of a widely used app is the CordicoShield Employee Wellness App. Cordico provides
confidential and anonymous access to powerful resources and self-evaluations 24/7/365 via a
smartphone app that is custom tailored to a specific department. Several departments nationally have
provided this resource as an option to their officers. In August of this year, the Syracuse Police
Department began providing access to their department-specific app to their officers via the
CordicoShield Employee Wellness App.50 Coridico has contracted Kevin Gilmartin, PhD to assist in the
development and continued support of the CordicoShield Employee Wellness App. Dr. Gilmartin is
perhaps best known for his book, Emotional Survival of Law Enforcement (2002) which is commonly cited
and used throughout departments nationally in wellness programs.
10. Provide Chaplain services as another method to provide support to officers following a traumatic event.
These services are non-denominational, are spiritual, but not necessarily religious. Since Chaplains are
ordained, the use of Chaplain services is both confidential and privileged in nature.

F. Police Policy, Strategies, and Practices

1. Place the sanctity of human life at the core of RPD's policing philosophy. Current RPD policy does not
include an express sanctity of life provision.
2. By April 1, 2022, the City shall create disciplinary rules, policies, and practices that ensure the RPD's low-
level enforcement patterns and priorities match those of Rochesterians.

46 Albreksten, S. (n.d.). San Diego Police Wellness Unit Overview. Retrieved from
https://www.californiapolicechiefs.org/assets/news/Executive%20Summarv%20Wellness%20Unit%20San%20Diego%20
PD.pdf
47 Crespolini, R. (2020, November 23). Training Helps Mendham Officers Handle Mental Health Challenges. Retrieved
from https://patch.com/new-iersev/mendham-chester/training-helps-mendham-officers-handle-mental-health-
challenges
48
Willis, D. (2014). Bulletproof Spirit: The First Responder's Essential Resource for Protection and Healing Mind and
Heart. Novato, CA: New World Library.
49 Gang, N. (2019). Aher Model 7-Point Approach to a Culture of Wellness. Retrieved at
https://www.cordico.com/2020/09/23/asher-model-7-point-approach-to-a-culture-of-wellness/
50 Baker, C. (2020, August 20). Syracuse Police Department to Adopt New Mental Health Service for Officers [webpage].
Retrieved at https://www.svracuse.com/news/2020/08/syracuse-police-department-to-adopt-new-mental-health-
service-for-officers.html

43
3. Periodically survey the public to shed light on how they feel the police profile black and brown people for
minor violations.
4. Mandate the completion of incident reports that include demographic data to better track stops made by
the RPD.
5. Develop a policy limiting the use of spit socks or hoods and outlining strict guidelines for appropriate and
safe use of spit socks if and when they are used.
6. By the end of the 2021 calendar year, the City shall create and enforce laws and policies related to the
use of breathing restrictions in accordance with New York State law and create training and disciplinary
rules that will be enforced if there are violations of the policies.51 New policies should ban applying
significant body weight on a handcuffed or restrained person (including a person restrained by a "spit
sock") unless exceptional circumstances are present that pose an immediate threat of harm to the
person or others and no reasonable alternative is available. Similar to new policies introduced in the
NYPD, the RPD will create orders, training, and disciplinary rules that end the use of chokeholds,
neckholds, and headlocks, as well as the use of sitting, kneeling, standing, or applying significant body
weight on an already handcuffed or restrained person.
7. Revise policies and practices pertaining to RPD's Use of Force and De-escalation Strategies.
a. Revise General Order 340, "Use of Deadly Physical Force" to set the standard for any use of force
at all— clearly stating that force is only to be used when necessary, and if it is used at all, to be
used in proportion to the threat. Integrate into the policy other force-related policies to address
all permissible uses of force and any limitations on those uses of force. Explicitly state in the
policy the situations in which force should never be used, including, for example, using force as
punishment or in retaliation against a subject.
b. Integrate the "Duty to Intervene" into RPD's restructured use of force policy as other model
policies recommend and police departments have done. In addition to incorporating the "Duty to
Intervene" into a restructured use of force policy, implement policies to protect from retaliation
any members who act to prevent excessive uses of force or other misconduct.
c. Make clear that Department policy requires officers to attempt to de-escalate their encounters
with members of the public. Require officers to use de-escalation techniques to reduce the use of
force required, or to prevent any use of force at all, so long as it is safe for them to do so.
d. Support the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) in the de-escalation support it provides to the
community. The CIT should continue to work with 911 dispatchers to respond to emergency calls
where they may be able to help tense situations from becoming worse.
8. Prohibit officers from firing at moving vehicles except (1) to counter an imminent threat of death or
serious physical injury to the officer or another person, by a person in the vehicle, other than the vehicle
itself or (2) to counter a situation where the officer or others are unavoidably in the path of the vehicle
and cannot move safely. Officers should avoid positioning themselves in the path of a moving vehicle
where they have no option but to use deadly force. When deadly physical force is authorized in these
situations, an investigation should be conducted to determine if an officer could have handled the
situation differently and/or avoided the path of the vehicle.
9. By April 1, 2022, the RPD and the City afe will implement changes to policy, practices, and trainings
regarding Less-Than-Lethal Weapons and identify alternatives to these weapons through research from
other cities and countries; the City will ensure this is a public process, at least through Council legislation.
These weapons were intended as a way to avoid the use of deadly force, but are subject to abuse. The
new policies and strategies for the use of Less-Than-Lethal Weapons include:
a. Gathering data on the use of these weapons, whether they should be phased out in whole or in
part, what alternatives exist, and how officers are trained on the alternatives so that they have
tools to safely do their jobs while protecting the public and members of the community.

51 In summer 2020, the State of New York passed the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act, which made it a felony for a Police
Officer to "us[e] a chokehold or similar restraint and thereby caus[e] serious physical injury or death to another person."
44
 b. Mandating that less-than-lethal weapons only be used as a last resort once other alternatives
have been reasonably exhausted and multiple warnings given.
c. A ban on the use of chemical weapons, like tear gas, for peaceful crowd control, and restricting
their use to the case of riots and violent demonstrations and only when a command-level
decision has been made to deploy them.
d. Phasing out the use of chemical irritants, as alternatives are developed.
e. Ban the use of irritants on minors 15 and under. Ban the use of irritants on all other minors and
elders unless exceptional circumstances are present that pose an immediate threat of death or
seriously bodily harm to the elder, child or others and no reasonable alternative is available.
Support NYS legislation to accomplish these bans.
f. Ban the use of irritants when a person is restrained (including a person restrained by a "spit
sock") unless exceptional circumstances are present that pose an immediate threat of death or
seriously bodily harm to the person or others and no reasonable alternative is available.
g- Conducting a cost-benefit analysis on the use of flash bangs and sound cannons and develop
alternatives to the use of these devices for dispersing crowds.
h. Requiring the volume set for the sound cannons/flash bangs shall be such that it will not cause
long-term damage to a person's hearing.
Consider banning other "less-than-lethal" weaponry on a weapon-by-weapon basis. Before doing
so, the City should hold public education/deliberation sessions that make the costs and benefits
of these weapons clear and conduct public surveys to determine if and how Rochesterians wish
to see these weapons used against civilians.
J- Clearly restricting use of less-than-lethal weapons that are not banned, in order to prevent
disproportionate use of force, including a ban on shooting civilians in the face, neck, or spine with
a bean bag round or other projectile unless deadly force is justified.
k. Provide training to officers on these policy changes, the use of less than lethal weapons, and
alternatives.
10. The RPD does not have Facial Recognition Technology or the ability to conduct biometric search and has
no intent to acquire these technologies. If, these technologies were ever pursued, the City will engage
the community through public input including hearings or forums to ensure residents' voices are included
in the decision making process.
11. Maintain the mindset of a "Servant/Protector" verses a "Warrior" attitude at all times in crowd control
situations. The focus should be on the safety and protection of people first, property second, whenever
possible. Inevitably, some situations will involve confrontations with the public. Police should be skilled
with de-escalation techniques to reduce the risks to all involved. Lower-level management techniques
such as slowly moving crowds, giving directions over loudspeaker, limiting hostility, respecting First
Amendment rights, should be priorities over more intensive techniques such as pepper balls, rubber
bullets, flash bangs and tear gas, which should be deployed as a last resort under clear guidelines for use
of force. Implement de-escalation training throughout the Department and develop de-escalation
strategies for every situation that includes citizen-police confrontation. Crosswalk de-escalation training
throughout all operational policies.
12. Institute policy that officers shall not handcuff juveniles aged 12 and under unless the juvenile presents
an imminent danger to themselves or others.
13. By April 1, 2022, the City will research and develop a list of coordinated expanded pre-arrest diversion
programs such as LEAD that has empirical support of its success. Adapt a similar diversion approach for
youthful offenders that is similar to the adult program with additional focus on strengthening family
relations. Explore additional opportunities for diversion opportunities by establishing partnerships with
the Monroe County District Attorney's office and the Monroe County court system for program
development.
14. By the end of the 2021 calendar year, the City will improve the RPD Body-worn Cameras program by:

45
 a. Adding a list of examples of the types of law enforcement activities that officers are expected to
record under the existing BWC policy. The BWC Manual's standard recording policy requires
officers assigned a BWC to "record all activities, and contact with persons, in the course of
performing police duties." This includes recording, "all calls for service and self-initiated police
activity." However, the Manual does not further enumerate examples of the types of law
enforcement activities that officers are expected to record under this policy.
b. Expanding the mandatory recording activities to explicitly require BWC use for (1) the execution
of search and arrest warrants, and during (2) protest, crowd control, and demonstration-related
operations.
c. Developing clear rules and training regarding the application of BWC usage for search warrant
execution involving undercover operations and for SWAT team operations. The RPD does not
currently require BWC recordings for those operations for the protection of officers and law
enforcement methods so policy clarification and further discussions with RPD are needed.
d. Updating the BWC Manual to require officers to provide and record either a verbal or written
justification to their supervisors when there is a (1) failure to activate the BWC to capture a
mandatory or standard recording activity or (2) a premature deactivation of a BWC prior to the
conclusion of a mandatory or standard recording event.
e. Adding specific procedures in the BWC Manual that describe how an officer may be disciplined
for failing to comply with the BWC policies. RPD's BWC Manual does not currently address the
repercussions for officers who fail to use their BWCs in accordance with Department policy.
f. Amending/Updating the RPD BWC policy to:
° Provide a clear definition for the "safe and practical" exception to BWC recording
requirements.
© Consider eliminating the practice of officers previewing the BWC footage before writing reports
because it is time consuming and creates bias.
• Require officers to notify the public truthfully and effectively if they are being recorded.
g. Instituting a zero tolerance policy for officers who fail to turn on their body worn cameras when
it is safe and practical; that policy should be accompanied by strict penalties, which may include
dismissal.
h. Updating Departmental policies regarding the release of complete BWC footage, in compliance
with Freedom of Information Law.
i. Updating Departmental policies regarding storage of body worn camera footage and public
release of that footage.
j. Performing supervisory review of BWC footage to audit and track use of BWC.
15. Continue to work with the Rochester City School District on not having police presence in educational
settings and preparing a safety plan.
16. By the end of the 2021 calendar year, the City will update the RPD language access and interpretation
plan. The City shall make its public safety system accessible and responsive to all Rochesterians,
regardless of the languages they speak, and develop a full and robust language access plan and
interpretation services in all contexts regarding emergency services, critical information provision, and
law enforcement. Such full and robust services shall include, at minimum, ASL interpretation in the top
languages spoken in Rochester's Limited English Proficiency community (Spanish, Somali, Nepali, and
Swahili) and engage the Monroe County Language Access Coalition. This effort must include mandated
training of 911 operators to ensure language access is appropriated from beginning to end and the
appropriate responder is directed to the call.

46
17. Consider creating a reward/recognition system for consistent and creative use of de-escalation strategies
in the field by RPD Officers.
18. Review RPD General Orders for modifications necessary to take into consideration service to children and
people with special needs.
19. Modify RPD General Order 502/507 to explicitly state that regulations around field stops include people
who are walking or riding a bicycle in the right-of-way.
20. Enforce policies and practices that require an officer to provide clear indication whenever a person is
being placed under arrest.
21. Expand the mandatory recording requirement in the RPD BWC Manual. BWCs should be active at all
times during officers' responses to a service call or when in contact with members of the public.
22. Update the RPD BWC policies with clear, simple, and objective penalties for failing to comply with BWC
procedures prescribed by the BWC Manual and General Orders.
23. Consider using Cultural Monitors for the purpose of oversight and reporting upon the RPD's efforts to
achieve, maintain, and sustain constitutional and culturally-sensitive policing.
24. To address over-policing, Monroe County Law enforcement should end the use of pre-textual stops
(stops for minor offenses made to investigate other matters) and decriminalize and de-prioritize
violation-level offenses. (See recommendation in J.12 below)

G. Resizing the RPD

1. Reduce the RPD budget within the next 1-3 years so it can reallocate these resources to other programs.
2. Identify tasks handled by uniformed officers that could be handled by civilian individuals by April 1, 2022.
3. Commit to providing the financial and institutional support for a process to achieve long-term change to
Rochester's policing/public safety budget by April 1, 2022.
a. Bring all parts of our community to the table to examine and change our fundamental blueprint
of policing and public safety.
b. Through a broad partnership with the community, educate and engage Rochesterians on how the
RPD is funded. That partnership shall develop budget recommendations that captures
Rochesterians' public safety priorities, then review the proposed budget and make suggestions.
Regardless of what form this partnership takes, it must educate Rochesterians about how
different tools, from police to social services, can change public safety in our community. It may
need to be led by a coalition of organizations, inside or outside of government, that are trusted
by the community. It should canvass Black and Brown people, people facing homelessness and
poverty, and marginalized communities. The City will explore opportunities for a people's
budgeting process.
c. Consider reinstituting and rehiring a Commissioner of Public Safety who has a final say on both
budget and management.
d. The PAB is an entity of City Council and any resources and funds provided will be considered
through the Council's budget process. This includes any strategic and incremental increases the
PAB submits to fulfill its duties and responsibilities to review and recommend policies, practices,
procedures and trainings as well as their ability to determine discipline should the PAB be
authorized to do so in the future. Such costs must be broken down in Council's budget
consideration submittal so that it is considered.

47
H. Response to Mental Health Calls
I. Significantly increase the number of officers with Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training such that a
sufficient number of CIT-trained officers are available on each shift. The RPD CIT program is an important
tool for ensuring that RPD officers have the requisite skills to respond appropriately to a mental health
crisis. This intensive training program has been completed by approximately 125 active-duty RPD officers.
The program currently accepts officers on a voluntary basis. At this time, it is not recommended that RPD
mandate CIT training for all officers, as at least some research suggests that mandatory, across-the-board
CIT training lowers the effectiveness of the program overall. This may also require the RPD to examine
how officers switch shifts to ensure that there are CIT-trained officers available 24 hours.
2. Expand the scope of mental health awareness training and include explicit training on the availability of
other mental health response programs and appropriate coordination, including mobile crisis
intervention available nights and weekends.
3. Evaluate the Person in Crisis Team, or "PIC Team" Pilot Program that the City kicked off in January 2021
as a 6-month pilot program. At the end of the six months, the City will evaluate the effectiveness of the
program using the following metrics:
• % of Calls Transitioned - Reduce the number of behavioral health and lower acuity calls
traditionally responded to by law enforcement or EMS.
© Impact on ED/hospital utilization - Reduce the number of individuals transported to the
emergency department that could be instead addressed in a non-hospital setting.
© Outcomes for individuals - Along with documenting meaningful connections to services, i.e.
enrollment in ongoing case management, establish and track other key performance indicators
regarding the reduction in the number of non-warrant arrests that result during a 911
response.
® Cost-Benefit Analysis - Monitor and analyze comparing the investment into the PIC Team and
related Crisis Intervention Services Office programming with the costs of sending law
enforcement or EMS for the same interventions.
4. By the end of the 2021 calendar year, increase funding for first responder systems that appropriately
replace or supplement police with social workers, mental health providers, and other non-police
personnel.
a. This work is highest priority and should commence immediately, with quarterly updates
provided to Council and the community.
b. Analyze and divert calls from 911 to appropriate services. Reallocate and seek outside resources
to cover the shift in response model, proportionate to the percentage of diverted calls. Conduct
an evaluation of diverted calls each year for the next five years.
c. Assure that current County and City initiatives regarding mental health emergency response
services are fully integrated — i.e., one emergency response system, not two. An uncoordinated
or siloed approach to new initiatives will only prolong the inequities.
d. Evaluate FIT vs. PIC vs. FACET in the next six months, determine best path towards integration of
services.
e. Amend Part II, Section 28 of City Charter to mandate training of licensed ambulance operators
and other first responders on racism, implicit bias, and cultural and linguistic competency tied to
their job roles in emergency response, including communication with deaf and hard of hearing
clients.
f. Work with advocates and the court system to develop a program to improve evictions and the
removal of tenants as part of the work being done in the City's Department of Neighborhood and
Business Development. Social workers and community advocates should be entrusted to co-
48
 create new alternative eviction responses that aims to educate tenants and landlords on the law,
mediates disputes before they escalate, and ultimately assist tenants in relocating if an eviction is
lawful.
g. Ensure that all first responders are trained and receive coaching in culturally responsive care,
trauma-informed care, and anti-racist practices.

I. RPD Recruitment
1. Overhaul the Civil Service hiring system. The City of Rochester is requesting a complete overhaul of the
NYS Civil Service hiring and promotion system. It is evident and research shows that this practice has
been and continues to be biased toward communities of color. In fact, the deciding factor of if someone
would be a good officer or manager should not be based on how well someone scores on a written Civil
Service exam. The state should immediately convene a Civil Service Commission to review and change
the process for governmental hiring and promotions.
2. Create Civilian Public Safety Interview Panels to assess candidates for the Rochester Police Department.
The purpose would be to bridge the gap of hostility and suspicion by giving the citizens the power to
interview and assess candidates for the Police Department and make a recommendation to the Chief of
Police before they are accepted into that process, and before the agencies make that commitment and
investment in them. The purpose of the interviews will be to assess an applicant's attitudes, experience,
cultural fit and implicit biases, to determine whether the applicant is fit to serve as a Police Officer with
ethics, integrity and anti-racist attitudes and behaviors.
3. Petition Judge Geraci's court to alter the language in the federal consent decree requiring the RPD to
accurately reflect the various racial demographic populations of Rochester, and to maintain this status
through aggressive hiring of non-white personnel. The 1975 federal consent decree significantly
contributes to the racial imbalance within the Rochester Police Department's ranks. The purpose of the
decree, as written, was to "increase the minority representation" within the Rochester Police
Department to 25%. This was reflective of the population of Rochester when it was written, however the
non-white population of Rochester currently stands at over 50%.
4 The City will offer financial support to promote, expand, and increase recruitment for the Career
Pathways to Public Safety program offered by the Rochester City School District and the Police Recruit
Education Program (PREP) offered by Monroe Community College to firmly establish a direct pipeline for
the youth of Rochester to enter the ranks of the local law enforcement and significantly improve minority
representation.

5. In compliance with relevant laws, share information with the community about the backgrounds of
recruits and new hires, including information on whether officers are recruited or hired from the military
and information on whether new hires have disciplinary histories from law enforcement agencies in
which they previously served.
6. Require city residency for newly-hired police officers.

J. Training
1. Improve leadership training to cultivate community-supportive leaders in the RPD ranks.
a. Institute the Stratified Leadership Model to prepare leaders to create new competencies as they
move up the ranks. Stratified Leadership is needed as leaders move up through the hierarchy.
The complexities of the next level require a different set of competencies and capabilities to

49
 function effectively with respect to community policing. Using this leadership model, leaders
know what decisions should be made and at what level they should be made.
b. Foster community-oriented policing leadership and its culture by adopting the following
concepts:
® The promotional processes identify and select leaders that grasp the concepts of community-
oriented policing.
® The leaders regularly have informal and formal conversations about how they can embrace
community-oriented policing.
® Outside influences, such as the community, influence city leaders to ensure police leaders
adopt community-oriented policing.
® Police leaders recognize the importance of community-oriented policing and put in place
measures that permeate the agency's philosophy.
• City elected leadership direct the police department to put in place plans to ensure there is
community-oriented policing.
® Performance standards (ratings) are structured to drive the acceptance of community-oriented
policing.
c. Learn from other industries and police organizations to stimulate organizational growth.
Leadership training allows for leaders to broaden their global view. While working with
partnering agencies, common bonds help to allow for a unified response to emergencies and
ways to impart strategies to better work with the community.
2. Use empirical data to support the selection of new training programs.
3. Select and implement a strong curriculum for responding thoroughly and effectively to the need for racial
justice education of police recruits at the Police Academy level and in-service education for Officers. The
City must therefore craft and fund robust training on white supremacy, trauma-informed care, and
structural racism - training that must be transparent to the public, regularly conducted, and closely
monitored for effectiveness on an Officer-by-Officer basis.
4. Invest in available cultural diversity training to include implicit and explicit bias training, procedural
justice training, systemic racism, cultural competency, and Rochester history training that includes
cultural diversity, redlining and neighborhood development instruction during a recruit's post academy as
well as in-service for all staff.
5. Advocate for a change in NYS law to require DCJS to mandate explicit and implicit biases, systemic racism,
cultural competency, and procedural justice training in the Basic Course for their Police Officer
certification program. Mandate that this training be continued through required routine in-service
courses. Advocate for funding for this additional mandated training.
6. Reinforce Police Officers as "Servant/Protectors" as opposed to "Warriors" through training. In
comparing the documented and required police recruit training in de-escalation techniques to the
greater amount of time spent on firearms, baton, and OC spray training, it appears that there is an
imbalance that could further the perception of the concept of Police Officers as "Warriors" as opposed to
"Servant/Protectors." While most agencies provide de-escalation training, there are key success factors
that are often not incorporated into the training process. These include:
• Making de-escalation a core theme of an agency's training program.
® The responsibility for an officer to intervene to prevent other officers from using excessive
force.
® In-field training, video scenario reviews, and discussions focused on Use of Force and de­
escalation policies and procedures provided by skilled certified instructors.

50
 ® An audit process with data that is transparent and provided on a routine basis.
© Annual refresher training for all officers.
© Hours in de-escalation training at least as long as firearms, weapons, and defensive training
combined.
This training will require certified trainers trained by a nationally recognized de-escalation specialist. It is
recommended that officers at the academy receive eighty plus hours of de-escalation training and every
officer should be required to take at least one two-hour yearly training course in de-escalation tactics.
7. Focus training on humanity and the sanctity of life. Focusing on "Sanctity of life" as a guiding principle is
an example of a values-based approach to Use of Force which includes the following points:
© Respect human rights.
® Officers should not engage in unreasonable actions that precipitate the use of force as result
of tactical, strategic, and procedural errors.
© Individuals are entitled to Constitutional Rights free from excessive force.
© It recognizes that split-seconds judgements are made.
• Reasonableness inquiry in excessive force situations is objective. When reasonable, officers
should use advisements, warnings, verbal persuasion and other tactics including withdrawing.
© It is important for officers to bear in mind that many reasons exist that individuals may resist
arrest:
o The person may not be capable of understanding the gravity of the situation,
o An individual's reasoning ability may be dramatically affected by several factors, i.e.
medical condition, mental impairment, developmental disability, language barrier, drug
interdiction and emotional crisis.
8. Utilize training programs that have proven successes, such as Integrating Communications, Assessment,
and Tactics: A Training Guide for Defusing Critical Incidents, published by the Police Executive Research
Forum in 2016.
9. Integrate training topics into each officer's annual performance review process. Recognize individual
officer's very good performance and discipline individual officer's performance below the acceptable
level.
10. Prioritize spending hours training on use of force and de-escalation in such settings, which are generally
the most effective for adult learning, as opposed to purely classroom learning.
11. Explore working with the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement ("ABLE") Project, which has created
trainings designed to train officers on how to intervene to prevent harm and to create a law enforcement
culture that supports such peer intervention.
12. Transform the use of Pre-textual stops. Pre-textual stops are a tool often used by law enforcement
agencies by allowing an officer to stop an individual for a minor infraction for investigatory purposes,
however, its value is outweighed by its harm. Being stopped by police for minor infractions is an
experience shared by far too many Black men. These stops can result in humiliation or even death as we
saw in the case of Philando Castille, Walter Scott, and Sandra Bland. Evidence shows pre-textual stops
increase racial bias in the system and do not make communities safer. A national study found that white
drivers were about 20% less likely to be stopped than Black drivers. The study further revealed that white
drivers were searched 1.5 to 2 times less often than Black drivers, but were more likely to have drugs,
guns or other contraband. For these reasons the following policies should be implemented:
a. Upon stopping a vehicle for a minor traffic infraction, officers should not engage with occupants
beyond what is necessary to issue a citation. Before searching or asking for consent to search,
officers should have probable cause to believe that the vehicle contains evidence of a crime.

51
 Upon asking for consent to search, law enforcement in Monroe County should advise occupants
of their right to refuse consent.
b. Law Enforcement agencies should end the practice of stopping vehicles and pedestrians for the
following infractions: failure to use the sidewalk, jaywalking, no bell on bike, no light on bike,
front or rear view obstructed (VTL 375) and tinted windows.
c. Law Enforcement agencies in Monroe County should not be permitted to search vehicles or
persons based on the smell of marijuana. Examples: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia.
d. All vehicle and traffic stops should be recorded, race and ethnicity of the motorist should be
documented.
13. Take advantage of available outside funding for De-escalation Training.
a. Seek a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, which announced recently that it has put $3
million toward the creation of a national center that will provide training and assistance to help
law enforcement agencies prevent the use of excessive force. The grant would provide additional
support for training officers, and assist with reviewing current policing policies, as well as
providing for the mental health of officers.
b. Pursue a Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant - JAG. The JAG program is the leading source
of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. The JAG Program provides states, tribes,
and local governments with critical funding necessary to support a range of program areas
including law enforcement.
c. Apply to the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services.
14. Explore a possible pilot program for providing mindfulness-based de-escalation, anti-racism, wellness,
and resiliency training. There is a growing focus on what is commonly referred to as Mindful Policing in
recent years. Studies show the following benefits, and they show that continued practice is needed to
sustain these benefits.
• Significant increases in resilience, mental health and emotional intelligence;
• Significant decreases in sleep disturbances, anger, fatigue, burnout and general stress;
• Reduction in the levels of the stress hormone cortisol;
• Officers reported less difficulty with emotional regulation, organizational and operational
stress.
• Connect with law enforcement and municipalities in Los Angeles and Minneapolis regarding
their mindfulness policing practices, and its impact on policing and interactions between police
and civilians. Through work sessions and information gathering with these municipalities, begin
developing mindfulness training programs in Rochester.
15. Provide additional training to 911 dispatchers to get better information and assess the response needed
for mental health calls.
16. Provide training in the RPD academy as well as RPD officers on the handling of children and
adults/children with special needs.

K. Violence Prevention
Survey current violence prevention models, programming, and services currently utilized in Rochester.
Commit to expanding violence prevention programming to address any gaps as identified by said survey.

VIII. Conclusion
The systemic issues that plague the Rochester community, like other communities, took decades to create.
They are complex and deep rooted. It will take time and focus to change the system while balancing the
52
need for public safety and the professional and equitable application of policing. Upon submission of this
plan, the immediate next steps are:

• The RPD Chief will form a committee to turn the above recommendations into an action plan with
priorities, timelines, and measures by summer 2021;
• WilmerHale will complete their report related to use of force, de-escalation, use of body worn
cameras, and responding to mental health calls; and
• RPD will release a community policing plan, by fall 2021.

If significant progress in RPD behavior is not accomplished within one year of the release of the Chiefs action
plan, the Mayor will petition the state to allow a complete restructuring of the Police Department, similar to
the actions taken in Camden NJ for restructuring their police department.52

City Hall and the RPD are committed to working with the community and the PAB to make the changes
necessary to address the issues so each and every member of the Rochester community feels safe, protected,
and valued.

52 https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsvlvania/mc-nws-pa-camden-police-defund-rebuild-20200611-
5vhnvoo64vezviu2eiup5aswoi-story.html

53
 Appendix A - Community Engagement

Rochester, NY Public Safety Reform Plan

Host/Sponsor Type of Outreach Topic Month/Year

City of Rochester Survey Policing in Rochester 10/20

UCLM/PMD Church Rally Police Reform 08/20

Police Reform
UCLM Meeting 08/20
Proposals
Police Reform
UCLM/First Genesis Meeting 08/20
Proposals
UCLM/Dr. Cedric Police Reform
Zoom 08/20
Alexander Proposals
UCLM/First Church of Police Reform
Meeting 08/20
God Proposals
Police Reform
UCLM Meeting 09/20
Proposals
UCLM Meeting Police Reform 10/20
UCLM/Community
Meeting Police Reform 10/20
Justice Council
UCLM/Buntu Zoom Police Reform 11/20
UCLM Zoom/Webinar Police Reform 12/20
UCLM/WHEC TV Program Police Reform 01/21
Police Reform
UCLM Zoom 01/21
Proposals
UCLM Zoom Police Reform 01/21
UCLM Zoom Monroe County Sheriff 01/21
UCLM Zoom Police Reform 01/21
UCLM Zoom Police Reform 01/21
UCLM/Clergy Caucus Zoom Police Reform 01/21
UCLM Zoom Police Reform 01/21
UCLM/Greater
Rochester Police- Zoom Police Reform 01/21
Community_____
UCLM/Christian
Zoom Police Reform 01/21
Community Church
UCLM/WHEC TV Zoom/TV Police Reform 01/21
UCLM/Press
Press Conference Police Reform 01/21
Conference
UCLM/Connections
Radio Program Police Reform 01/21
Radio
UCLM/Broome
County-MLK Zoom Police Reform 01/21
Commission
Host/Sponsor Type of Outreach Topic Month/Year
UCLM/Keith Brown- Meeting Key features of Law
Albany LEAD Enforcement Assisted 02/19
Coordinator Diversion
Education and
feedback on multiple
University of
Meeting pre-arrest Rochester 04/19
Rochester - Prof.
Area Diversion
Services
Albany LEAD
Organization- Law Operational Aspects
Meeting in Albany 08/19
Enforcement and of LEAD
Providers
Discussion with
Monroe County Police Albany LEAD Police
Meeting 02/20
Chiefs and Local Police
Chiefs
Education and
RMAPI Policy Feedback re: LEAD
Meeting 04/20
Committee and Benefits to
Reduce Poverty, etc.
Establish A Single
Rochester Area Coordinated Pre­ 06/20
Virtual Meeting
Diversion Providers Arrest Diversion 10/20
Service
Feedback from United
RASE Police working
Meeting Christen Leadership 09/20-01/21
group Ministry (UCLM),
Feedback from
County Alliance for
RASE Police working
Meeting Transformation of 09/20-01/21
group Community and Police
(MCATCP)__________
Feedback from The
Rochester Police
RASE Police working Department Chiefs
Meeting 09/20-01/21
group Police Citizen
Interaction Committee
(PCIC)_____________
RASE Police working Feedback from RPD
Focus Groups 09/20-01/21
group_____________ Officers
Feedback from
RASE Police working Individual
various demographic 09/20-01/21
group Conversations
area residents
Feedback from 3
youth groups
RASE Police working
Meetings represented by Teen 09/20-01/21
group Empowerment,
Greece Odyssey
2
Host/Sponsor Type of Outreach Topic Month/Year
Academy, and
Pittsford Sutherland
High School_______
Black Lives Matter
RPD Meeting Group - Community 12/20
Violence Initiative.
Nation of Islam-
RPD Meeting Building community 01/21
relationships______
Community Justice
RPD Meeting 01/21
Initiative
Faith-based
community protest
RPD Zoom 01/21
(March) rules of
engagement_____
Rochester Clergy
RPD Zoom 01/21
Roundtable
Ibero Leadership- plan
RPD Zoom for protest and public 01/21
safety_______________
Rochester PAB 8 Virtual Meetings to Review of PAB's Findings 12/20-01/21
Private Organizations & Recommendations
and/or the Public at Large

Rochester PAB Call for Written & Oral Review of PAB's Findings 12/20-01/21
Feedback (30 pages of & Recommendations
feedback received)

City of Rochester Website, Social Media, Public Comment Period 02/21-03/21

Press Release, On-line on Draft Plan
Comment Survey

City of Rochester Webinar Review and comment on 02/21

the Draft Plan

City of Rochester Telephone Town Flail Review and comment on 02/21

the Draft Plan

3
 APPENDIX B

RPD 2020 Violence Reduction Plan

4
 APPENDIX C

Reports from the Police Accountability Board

5
 APPENDIX D
Reports from the United Christian Leadership Ministry

6
 APPENDIX E

Reports from the RASE Commission's Policing Working Group

(Forthcoming)

7
 APPENDIX F

New Policing Blueprint Proposal from the Pastor's Roundtable

8
 APPENDIX G

Comments received on the February 4, 2021 Draft

9
 Appendix H
Monroe County Public Defender's Office
Executive Order 203 Report, March 1, 2021

10
 Appendix I
Monroe County Alliance for the Transformation of Community & Police
Police Reform Report
February 2021

11
 Appendix J
Telephone Town Hall Meeting Report

12
 Appendix K
Selected Studies, Reports and Relevant Policies
Police Use of Force and De-Escalation
From WilmerHale

13