Acting Rochester Police Chief David Smith says the city’s 2021 crime statistics show while violent crime was up, property crimes and theft were down last year.
As is well known, Rochester posted its deadliest year in history with 81 homicides in 2021. Of those, 41 cases have been closed with a clearance rate of 50.6 percent. Smith said police can’t arrest the community out of this pattern of violent behavior. He said it will take concerted community effort to bring about a reduction.
The good news is that property crime, including burglaries and larcenies, was down last year. Of 13 bank robberies, 11 ended in arrest of the suspect. Two recent investigations are still ongoing.