Monroe County is investing $8.5 million over the next five years into hiring 11 new deputies for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office…both to combat violence around the county and to help Rochester Police stem the surge in violence in city neighborhoods. Bello said nobody in Monroe County should live in fear in their own home. He said record violence and gunfire threaten city neighborhoods, and they deserve better.
Sheriff Todd Baxter says they’ll double the size of his tactical unit which responds to violent crimes. Five of the new deputies will be assigned there. Baxter says that will let the department fully staff all suburban zones while also assisting the city in high-crime areas. Others will work on programs to visit houses where gun violence suspects live to see what can be done to break the cycle of young men shooting each other. One other will be assigned to a team working to break up the illegal gun trade in the county, on the same model of the successful Heroin Task Force.
Finally, extra personnel will be assigned to programs working with inmates in the Monroe County Jail, hoping to direct them in more social ways once they’re released. Without a strong effort in this area, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans says jail becomes a revolving door as those released quickly re-offend and are arrested for new crimes.
Finally, Acting Rochester Police Chief David Smith says his department is getting ten new officers to help address the department’s manpower shortage. They’re transfers from neighboring departments and will be patrolling city streets in August. He says police will also be re-establishing their community outreach programs which were lost during the COVID pandemic, building relationships between officers and community leaders.