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The Rochester Police Department is short of the people who patrol city streets, investigate crimes and supervise its operations.
Of 728 slots in the department for sworn personnel, those who have pledged to enforce the law, only 621 were filled as of Sept. 19. The nearly 15 percent gap has left some officers busier and less able to take time off, and may be hurting officers’ morale.
“There, in my view, are fewer officers on the shift than would be ideal,” says one mid-level supervisor with the department, who prefers to go by the name Mike to avoid his superiors’ attention. “That’s a real source of stress for people when they don’t feel they can take their earned time off from what is often a stressful job.”
The lower-than-desired number of personnel may also be raising the department’s overtime costs.
City of Rochester budget documents show overtime expenses for RPD personnel were $12.91 million in fiscal 2024, 88 percent higher than in 2020 when the figure was $6.85 million.
This leap in spending is explained in the budget as necessary for “special events” and “other special (law enforcement) details.” The Domestic Violence Response Team is one specific task force mentioned as having a net increase in overtime in fiscal year 2023.
The 2024 figure could represent the peak of overtime expenditures, however. The approved fiscal 2025 budget decreased RPD overtime to $7.15 million, closer to the level in 2020.
Hoping to fill out its ranks, RPD has reached out to potential recruits through local organizations, on social media, online and even via out-of-town
ads. At the same time, the department has strived to help those interested in becoming police officers successfully navigate its lengthy selection process and training programs.
Those hurdles can be difficult to overcome. RPD spokesperson Capt. Gregory Bello says that of the approximately 900 people who signed up to take the New York State Civil Service examination for law enforcement personnel last February, only 17 were eventually sworn in.
The RPD isn’t the only law enforcement agency that’s short of staff. As of September, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office had 964 slots for sworn personnel on its roster, most of them for full-timers. It was down 79 people, or just over 8 percent of the total.
A national problem
Law enforcement agencies across the country are suffering from a lack of sworn personnel, according to a 2023 report from the Police Executive Research Forum. The nonprofit’s survey of 182 law enforcement agencies found that from 2019 to 2022, the numbers of officers retiring from those agencies rose by 19 percent. Total sworn staffing among them dropped by 5 percent during that period.
A lack of available recruits may also be dragging down staffing levels. A 2019 report from the International Association of Chiefs of Police stated that 78 percent of 520 US law enforcement agencies surveyed had difficulty recruiting qualified candidates.
IACP’s respondents blamed their recruiting problems on a number of factors, including the difficulty of finding enough candidates who were willing to accept the working conditions and dangers of police work and could pass background checks. The agencies also stated that the public perception of law enforcement was “a sizable barrier to effective recruitment.”
Recruitment hurdles
Retirements are a factor driving down RPD staffing numbers. “The last few years, retirements have outpaced hiring,” Bello says.
Recruitment also has been a challenge.
Officers’ experiences during and after the protests and riots that took place in 2020 in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and Daniel Prude may have led some of them to retire, Bello says. Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and Prude succumbed a week after he was physically restrained by RPD officers and placed in custody. (The Monroe County medical examiner ruled the cause of death was homicide.) During the disturbances that occurred afterward, some of the protestors managed to identify an officer who was on duty downtown and do online searches of him and his family.
“They’re yelling out his address, and they’re yelling out his kids’ names at him, and then they called his parents and started yelling at his parents on the phone that he was a murderer,” Bello says. “When the negativity of your job and the threats of your job end up at your home, it creates a lot of ‘do I want to do this anymore?’”
It does not help that Rochester City Councilmembers Stanley Martin and Mary Lupien have criticized RPD, department members say.
“It seems that in their eyes, we are guilty until proven innocent and that they perceive us as an occupying force within the city,” says one member of the department, who prefers to go by the name Will to avoid trouble on the job.
Martin in the past has called for the department to gradually be abolished and replaced by services she considers more beneficial to the community, such as mental health care. Lupien has pushed the city to divert RPD funding to community and mental health services. (Martin and Lupien did not respond to requests for comment.)
Potential recruits must also consider whether they want to deal with the threat of being investigated by the Police Accountability Board. Created in 2019, the board investigates complaints alleging RPD misconduct.
“If you’re somebody who’s 24-years-old looking to stay local and become a police officer, I think those are the biggest impediments to recruitment,” Mike says.
The RPD has had to overcome a number of structural barriers when trying to fill out its ranks. As part of the application process for the biannual civil service test, applicants can indicate which law enforcement agencies they’d consider joining, so the department often has to vie with other agencies for those who pass the test.
“All law enforcement is pulling from the same list, for the most part,” says Deputy Brendan Hurley, the public information officer for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. “We’re all competing for the same talent.”
In addition, not every applicant who is interested in joining the RPD follows through. Of those who applied to take the most recent test, held on Sept. 28, some 797 expressed an interest in joining the department. Bello couldn’t say how many of the applicants actually took that test but speculated that the number came to no more than 500. Only those who scored high enough will be considered as candidates for the force.
“We process candidates starting at the top of the list and work our way down,” Bello says.
According to RPD personnel records, the median number of years on the job is 14. Thirty-one percent were hired between 2006 and 2010, the largest growth over a five-year period.
For 127 RPD employees, their listed hire date ranges from 2021 to the present. This represents 16 percent of total employees, the third-largest five-year cohort.
Demographically, the RPD is dominated by white and male employees, who respectively make up 84 percent and 78 percent of the total workforce.
There has been improvement in recent years at diversifying the department, however. Nonwhite personnel who started in 2024 represented 67 percent of total new employees, a record high.
Similarly, the gender gap in new hiring classes is narrowing. In 2024, 32 percent of new employees were women, up from 18 percent of new employees in 2019.
Making the cut
Once they’ve made the grade, candidates must get through RPD’s multistage selection scheme.
“Each step of the process, we lose more and more candidates,” Bello says.
Candidates also have to pass medical and psychological exams, undergo a background check, and meet the department’s standards for physical fitness, which vary by age and gender.
A 19-year-old man must be able to do sets of 29 push-ups and 38 sit-ups, each within one minute, and to run 1.5 miles in under 12 minutes, 38 seconds. For a 30-year-old woman, the standard is 11 push-ups, 25 sit-ups and 15 minutes, 43 seconds.
Many candidates can’t make the grade. According to one report, only 12 percent of the 800 people who applied to join RPD in 2023 met the department’s physical standards. Those who pass may then fail the medical and psychological exams, or the background checks.
“We have people that apply that have felony convictions or that have drug abuse issues or things along those lines that disqualify them,” Bello says.
That is not to say that all arrests are disqualifying. A candidate who was busted for misdemeanor assault at the age of 17 and went on to become a stable and productive member of society might still be able to don a badge.
“We look at the totality of a background, not just one specific incident,” Bello says.
Candidates also undergo interviews with the department’s Command Staff and with the Civilian Public Safety Interview Panel. Members of the panel, which was created by the city in collaboration with the United Christian Leadership Ministry of Western New York, seek to learn candidates’ “views on contemporary policing, culture and race, and familiarity with the Rochester community, among other topics of importance to the community.”
“They make recommendations to the chief as to whether they believe a candidate would be a good fit (for) the Rochester community,” Bello says.
Those who pass all the tests and interviews still have far to go before they can patrol Rochester independently. After waiting about three months for the state to grade their civil service exams, they have to spend six months in the Police Academy and another three months undergoing field training.
Generating interest
RPD has sought to boost its recruiting results by various means. The department has turned to local organizations to put the word out that it’s hiring.
“We have community partners that we work with, including faith-based groups,” Bello says.
Seeking new ways to recruit, the department recently created a focus group of as many as 20 officers to provide suggestions. One of the results is a YouTube video that shows officers heading up a stairway with their guns ready, police cars flying down darkened streets, and an officer moving someone in handcuffs along while contemporary rock music plays in the background.
“It’s an edgy video that shows what officers want to do,” Bello says.
In ride-along videos, viewers get to know the officers behind the wheel, as does RPD’s Behind the Badge series.
The department also posted electronic recruiting ads on billboards in Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo.
Bello says the latest RPD recruiting efforts might have begun to work.
“We have more people signing up to take the test now than we did five years ago,” he says. “We’re looking for those numbers to continue.”
In addition to trying to gain the attention of potential recruits, the department hopes to improve its image with segments of the community. Last August, it announced a historic partnership with the Urban League of Rochester. The relationship could help the department improve its image among African Americans and the other minority groups the nonprofit serves.
“That impacts recruitment,” Bello says. “If we’re viewed in a positive light, that’s going to encourage people to be part of the positivity.”
Seeking to spread that positive message, the department’s Facebook page currently shows smiling officers attending Halloween events for city kids and patrolling downtown Rochester. Even the department’s K-9 officers put in an appearance at an annual pet costume party.
The RPD also works with candidates to help them get through the testing and hiring processes. As soon as candidates have signed up for the civil service exam, members of the department’s Recruitment Unit offer them the chance to join its Workforce Development Program. Those who take the offer receive help preparing for the exam, for the physical tests they’ll have to pass and for the other tasks they have to successfully complete in order to enter the Police Academy.
“We do interview strategy classes to help them pass interviews,” Bello says.
In addition to encouraging candidates to continue through the hiring process, the recruiters give them in-depth information about what it’s like to be a Rochester police officer. In return, the recruiters learn more about the candidates.
“From there, we can start to identify some people that we think are really good for RPD,” Bello says.
The Beacon tried to interview someone from the Locust Club, the union that represents RPD’s officers, regarding the department’s recruiting problems. In response, Executive Vice President Paul Dondorfer left a phone message that said the union “is not interested in making any comments at this point.”
Michael Mazzeo, who spent over 38 years with the RPD and 15 years as president of the Locust Club before retiring in January, believes that changes in the way the department is viewed would help improve its recruiting efforts.
“The community’s philosophy and efforts for police reform and accountability must be focused on supporting good cops,” he says.
Officer Will says RPD could improve its image, and its recruiting, by showing the public the good work its officers do every day in the community.
“Officers are doing exactly what we train them to do,” he says. “They’re acting with integrity and compassion.”
Bello believes RPD’s efforts to rebuild the community’s trust and improve its image might be beginning to bear fruit.
“We have more people signing up to take the test now than we did five years ago,” he says. “Law enforcement was a very undesirable career four or 5 years ago nationwide and it’s becoming a desirable career again.”
Mike Costanza is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer. Jacob Schermerhorn created the data visualizations for this article. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].
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Josh, considering the limited role DoE actually provides, perhaps it should be more empowered, not less? It fails RCSD and others because it has less say in policy and practice than many people seem to realize.
https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/federal-role-in-education
“It’s called duplication of services.”
Not sure that any of these are accomplished at a local level or are duplicative, in particular the first three,
“The department identifies four key functions:[6]
-Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education and distributing as well as monitoring those funds.
-Collecting data on America’s schools and disseminating research.
-Focusing national attention on key educational issues.
-Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.
[6]”Agency Profile | U.S. Department of Education”. www2.ed.gov. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
I’m thinking some have focused on the last issue regarding cultural issues and mistakenly believe DoE sets curriculums as opposed to its oversight and accountability responsibilities. Not sure I want federal funds being granted without accountability. That doesn’t happen in the private sector either.
Either way I think we agree the police are too often tasked with addressing the failures of society, and the education system.
“Trust but verify” Ronald Reagan. Here’s we ae agree, the situation is bad, we need to do better, and perhaps there is race bias in not doing more, although considering the makeup of the board that’s hard to imagine. Here’s where we disagree, I don’t believe those involved don’t care or have an oh well attitude. I think they care but can’t correct all of societies ills in the classroom. I think they try but are failing and something needs to change. The direct supervision school board model is not working in the city, Bob Duffy was likely right when he advocated mayoral control. I’m not convinced the DoE is the problem. Reading up on it’s functions I don’t see how its elimination addresses the problems with the RCSD. But I may be wrong. Thanks for your perspective.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Education
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_EducationThanks for expressing your opinion.
I didn’t say the Department of Education is the problem. It’s called duplication of services. It just doesn’t add anything. It’s not reaching the urban kids in Rochester, NY and other major cities. In the meantime the kids keep failing and the experts keep collecting a paycheck with zero results. So we just let this go on? That’s not a solution but rather continued failure. But….like I said, there are those who apply the slogan….the poor will always be with us.
What would you do about federal funding of school programs? Who if anyone would ensure the funding was spent as intended?
What you’re saying is that the State cannot be trusted. They need an oversight. Are they then incompetent? What did we do prior to the introduction of the Department of Education? The thing that bothers me most is that we can’t or won’t address the failing urban education. We just turn a blind eye. It’s an “oh well” attitude. I would say, and I hesitate to do so, that this is racism. That the kids in the city can go pound salt. It’s madaning. It’s unnecessary. It can be corrected. But for some reason the Politicians could give a damn less. The Teachers Union could care less. Adam Urbanski with decades in as their leader could care less. And the colleges and universities could care less. It’s an OH WELL attitude. The poor will always be with you attitude. SEMPER FI.
“I’m just trying to point out, that if the Department of Education is needed to shore up the urban education system in Rochester, NY, they too are failing us.”
Agreed, the RCSD record is dismal. What affect do the factors, such as poverty, the disappearance of the nuclear family and good roles models play? Can we reasonably expect the school district to be more successful considering these? I think we can, that board and its internal strife is a huge problem.
I’m asking your opinion, do we reform the DoE or eliminate it?
Eliminate it. We will never feel it when gone as we have never felt it while in existence. We need an education system designed for the urban youth. We need to demonstrate careers and professions on a regular basis. We need to show the kids all the opportunities available to them. We need to address the perceived boring academics and connect them with those careers/professions. Just telling them they need to graduate aint gonna get the job done. The attention span is not long enough. We need to provide an ongoing interest. Vocational education in a big way needs to be founded and implemented. Know what a good welder makes? Over a 100K. Carpentry, plumbing, etc. Form an association with unions, industry, manufacturing etc. Give the military a stage to show them the many unique opportunities. It’s not all black face trigger work. That only covers a small percentage. All this can be accomplished locally. We don’t need any long distance supervision. We need local ingenuity, which we have plenty of. It just needs to be organized and implemented. Quit boring kids to dropping out.
You make good points. I agree the RCSD is a mess, but most districts aren’t. If we’re going to keep up with the demands of the world do you see a need for a national department to ensure some level of common competency? IS it a question of elimination or reform?
Gary:
It’s a case of supervision at the state level being supervised by the federal level. Educational leadership managing educational leadership. We don’t have a chain of command times two for hospitals, for manufacturing, in the armed services, etc. Why this doubling down with a system on a system? That doubles (probably more considering it’s government funded) the expense to teach our kids. The Department of Education has done zip, zero, nada to get the urban education on track. Not just this administration, decades of this educational failure. I’m not trying to be a wise ass here, I’m just trying to point out, that if the Department of Education is needed to shore up the urban education system in Rochester, NY, they too are failing us. Lastly, realise this. I don’t just bitch and moan about the issues, which includes education, I always present a solution based argument or discussion. I have presented another program to enhance the current system. I want kids to stay in school, discover their innate skill or gift and build on that. For some kids that’s college/university and for some vocational or certificate programs. Currently too many kids graduate from the education they received on the streets. That keeps police, justice and incarceration “business” busy. Remember this….ALL KIDS HAVE INNATE SKILLS AND OR GIFTS, ALL KIDS. It’s a matter of teaching kids the way they learn. The City brags about being Blue. If the city, and that includes the RCSD, RCSB, Adam Urbanski and company and yes…the politicians will just address the failure, I would be glad to say, the Blue is working, but it aint. It’s failing our urban kids big time. Thee worst performing system in the State of New York. I’d love to see someone step up with a solution. But right now all they do is collect a paycheck. Semper Fi
Gary, if you feel the need to keep the Department of Education in DC, you are telling the state educational leadership they need oversight. If I were the head of education in NYS and the feds insisted on that, I would say, it’s all yours. Then this, who provides oversight for the Feds? At some point one has to stop “oversighting” make decisions and get the job done. Right now, in urban Rochester, the job is not getting done. Not with the locals leadership, nor with the Feds. Gary, this education issue in Rochester is not without solutions. But the be frank, they collective don’t care, which they have shown with there incompetence over decades.
Theere may be two causes for the large number who cannot pass the “physical fitness”exam. One is that in recent years, it is more likely that individuals are overweight or obese and have other physical limitations because of sedentary lifestyles and consumption of ultra=processed foods. Unfortunately, this can include a large number of applicants who could otherwise do the job. A second is that some of the physical tests may not relate to what is needed on the job. It makes some sense that running would be required to possibly chase down fleeing suspects. But what police duty requires the skills of doing pushups and sit-ups? And is an officer expected to chase a suspect for a mile and a half? It would seem that calling another officer in a vehicle would be a better idea, similarly to an officer involved in a vehicle chase calling for another police vehicle up ahead to assist. Another thing to think about is that this an entry requirement, but are officers with years on the job required to meet the same standards? If not, why are these tests necessary?
Good points, some of it is legacy testing, some of it is pragmatic. The job requires a certain level of physical fitness to protect oneself and others. A quick Google search brings up studies showing the most common injuries to officers are muscular sprains and strains. The ability to perform the general physical fitness exam is a measure the ability of the candidate to perform on the job and be successful in the academy without suffering injuries. There are reasons why veterans are not required to keep up certain physical standards and some of them are questionable. What do you do with an officer who has let themselves go? Does their experience balance their lost physical capabilities? Do union rules allow it? A good idea that might be hard to implement.
Josh, point taken, how will Trump’s promise to eliminate the Department of Education, and providing some sort of national uniformity of standards help or hurt school districts do what you’d like? Will defunding the schools be as negatively consequential as defunding the police has been?
States rights, states responsibility, regional responsibility, local responsibility. The Department of Education, if so important, is doing what for urban Rochester’s City School district? What is that Department of Education doing to tap the RCSB on their shoulder and say, “you’re not providing the leadership required. The Department Of Education is a “nothing burger” when it comes to providing urban Rochester an education. It is the local “expertise” that needs to be replaced with individuals that know education. We need vocational education. How can the Department of Education help with that? They don’t even know Rochester is a mess. They have no clue that the graduation rate is poor to unacceptable. Over one billion (with a “B”) is spent in urban Rochester with unacceptable results. Money isn’t the issue, but rather the will to do things right and to do the right thing. Board of Education member winging the “F” word at meeting? Nuts. I could go on here and by the way, I have offered with a program that was found to be very interesting and worthy of implementing by John Hopkins.
Oops….Johns Hopkins University.
Defund the police? Be careful what you ask for.
Roger that. It’s interesting to note that when there is a call for a family in distress need (thee most dangerous for the police) the experts, you know those well educated psychologists stationed in their fancy office, are nowhere to be seen. Just bring them to us, is their answer. Try riding along with them and when such a call comes in…. you can show all of us how it’s done. The police are the fall-guy for all the misery. Establish (at the very least) an on call system. A system that assists those “inept police” calming down an individual gone mad with a gun and barricaded in a house with kids. This is not that difficult. Place the expertise where it is needed. Right now you can make an appointment with the psychology office and when you get there the very first communication is, “do you have your insurance information Please?” Get involved and quit hanging the police out to dry, so to speak. Semper Fi.
Now I know this is difficult to understand for the politicians, the RCSD, the Teachers Union and the RCSB, but if you teach the way kids learn, they will graduate from their respective schools as opposed to graduating from the street. If you establish a quality vocational school, kids will graduate with a relevant education. IT WILL GREATLY REDUCE THE NEED FOR POLICING. The beat goes on and the understanding of that rather simple need to address education goes unnoticed and when the police are called they will have to deal with it. You don’t extinguish a fire by dousing it with gasoline. Address the education! Semper Fi.