On crime, Rochester turned the tide in 2024

Rochester experienced a significant drop in crime last year—30 percent overall—that spanned every reported category, with the second half of 2024 continuing the midyear trend.

“I am not satisfied with these numbers, but I am gratified,” Mayor Malik Evans said, repeating an oft-used phrase in his year-end public safety update. “(They represent) the work we are doing to continue to drive down those numbers.

“These numbers are not something I’m making up, they’re coming from the open data portal,” he added. “You can look them up for yourself.”

In 2024, there were 37 reported homicide incidents (there were 45 victims), a 26 percent drop compared with 2023 and the second year in a row with a decline. The property crime category benefitted from a sharp decline in motor vehicle thefts—2,068 reported incidents, down from 3,943 in 2023. In that year, one day saw 33 stolen cars reported.

Rochester Police Chief David Smith stressed data transparency.

“I do hear all the time, ‘Well, you know you’re fudging the numbers, you’re making up the numbers.’ All of our numbers are on the open data portal,” he said during the update. “They’re available for anyone to view.”

Digging deeper in the Rochester Police Department’s data reveals areas both of improvement and concern. While the number of reported incidents dropped last year, motor vehicle thefts and aggravated assaults remain at elevated levels.

The mayor credits his administration’s actions, including the Gun State of Emergency declaration, and cross-organizational partnerships as reasons for progress. Smith points to RPD’s focus on community engagement.

“When it comes to public safety, perception is just as important as reality. And in this country, boy, is it,” Evans said. “I can tell some of you the sky is blue and somebody still would tell me it’s green because, in their perception, the sky is green.

“So, we have to work overtime to overcommunicate and continue to talk about public safety,” he continued. “We have to make sure that we put out where we are. This is our report card.”

Property crime

The steep drop in motor vehicle thefts—which fell nearly 48 percent—drove the decline in property crime last year. Overall, property crime incidents were down 33 percent.

From 2011 to 2019, the city averaged around 500 motor vehicle thefts per year. Before 2023’s record-setting 3,943 incidents, 2021 and 2022 were the first years with a pronounced rise in yearly total car-theft reports (960 and 1,110, respectively). 

In response, the city filed a suit against Kia America Inc. and Hyundai Motor America Inc. due to a lack of anti-theft devices in their vehicles. Monroe County stepped up efforts in its Juvenile Enhanced Diversion Stabilization program, a measure aiming to disrupt youth offenders from interacting with their peers. The mayor says it has been valuable as a partnership between government organizations and as a focused approach for youth-specific crimes.

Evans also pointed to youth employment programs, such as the Summer of Opportunity, as a solution and praised the outreach done by the Department of Recreation and Human Services through its recreation centers.

“I hope that there is a way for people to connect the dots,” said Evans. “If you keep kids working, if you keep them involved in good activities, that is how we will drive down youth violence and other nonsense that kids sometimes get themselves involved in.”

While much improved, motor vehicle thefts remained at an elevated level, totaling 2,068. May was the only month with fewer than 100 incidents. This issue has persisted even outside the city, with a rash of break-ins occurring most recently over the Christmas holidays in Penfield and Henrietta.

Geographically, motor vehicle thefts were concentrated in the southeastern section of the city, with the most incidents occurring in the patrol beat that encompasses the Neighborhood of the Arts, bounded by University Avenue, Culver Road, Monroe Avenue and Union Street.

The patrol beat covering the eastern side of Center City was a hot spot for property crime. August saw a spike in reported incidents in the categories of motor vehicle thefts, larceny, and robbery in that area.

The following month, the city announced new weekend safety policies in the East End entertainment district. The order made the section a Special Event Zone with age restrictions, the ability to limit types of traffic and search bags.

“Not only is this effort keeping patrons secure, it’s creating an even more lively entertainment scene in the East End,” the mayor said during the update. “So, now if you go to the East End on Saturday night, guess what you see? People walking around, food trucks. That was an example of me using a gun violence state of emergency to be innovative, creative, nimble, and quick.”

Through the rest of the year, violent incidents in that area decreased, particularly in the category of aggravated assault. However, the highest number of larceny incidents (38) in Center City’s east side was recorded in November, months after the special zone was instituted.

Larceny has been one of the most improved areas on a long-term basis for reported crimes. After the 2022 and 2023 yearly totals both surpassed 5,300 incidents, this year’s total of 4,020 is the lowest level ever in available RPD records. It appears to be following a trend of decline that was interrupted only by those two high incident years.

“The New York State Police is helping us run retail theft details,” Evans noted. “They use some of the same techniques we use for gun crimes to identify known shoplifters in their patterns, which allows us to take a more proactive approach.”

The number of shoplifting incidents responded to by the RPD has fallen sharply since 2011. That year had a total of 837 reports, but the tally fell in the mid- and late 2010s, reaching all-time lows of 262 and 256 during the COVID pandemic-impacted years of 2020 and 2021, respectively.

In 2024, there were only 357 such cases, which is below the average for the past decade. Following historical trends, most incidents (27 percent) occurred at the Hudson Avenue Walmart Supercenter.

Violent crime

Rates of violent crime are also on the decline, coming under or close to pre-pandemic levels in some cases.

There were 37 reported homicides in 2024’s most recently available data, a drop of 26 percent compared to the year before and a 50 percent decline from 2022’s record high number of homicides. The 2024 total was near the pre-pandemic level of 41 homicides in 2019.

Rates of robberies and aggravated assaults, which also fall into the violent crime category, similarly were down in comparison to recent years. Though robbery incidents appear to be following a downward trend, totaling 414 in 2024 compared with 444 a year earlier, aggravated assaults remain elevated at 891 incidents.

This category first shot up in 2020, rising to 990 reported incidents compared with 690 the year before. Incidents dropped below 800 in 2022, then jumped to 904 in 2023. The 2024 tally, while slightly lower, remains high compared to a decade ago.

Historical data shows violent crime is most prevalent in the Crescent neighborhood areas of Rochester—in the city’s northeast, northwest, and southwest. Homicides reports were highest in the Lyell-Otis and North Clinton neighborhoods in 2024. An increased number of aggravated assault incidents accounted for atypically high levels of violent crime in the eastern part of Center City as well as the South Goodman neighborhood and the South Wedge.

The number of shootings in 2024 was on a downswing for Rochester with 205 total victims (28 fatal and 177 non-fatal). This was primarily due to the summer months, which typically have the highest crime rates, logging fewer shooting incidents than usual.

RPD’s Smith touted the department’s response to shooting incidents.

“Our non-fatal shooting investigations are at a 35 percent closure rate. Nationwide, the average is somewhere around 17 percent,” he said. “What we do is work in conjunction with the DA’s office, and we investigate every single shooting as if it were a murder. We’re seeing significant results.”

In 2023, the total number of shooting victims was 288 (44 fatal and 244 non-fatal).  Even with this progress, Evans says he is committed to maintaining Rochester’s Gun State of Emergency, a measure first declared in 2022.

“I renewed the gun violence state of emergency at the start of this month and guess what? I’m going to renew it again next month,” the mayor said. “I’ll probably keep renewing it even though the numbers continue to fall, so if your question is, ‘Am I going to stop renewing the gun violence emergency?’ No, I’m not, even as these numbers move in the right direction.”

Added Evans: “Violent crime and gun violence are our No. 1 challenge and will remain my No. 1 priority because no level of gun violence is acceptable.”

The Gun State of Emergency allows for increased and enhanced action to be taken by the administration. Some of those Evans praised include programs from the Advance Peace Peacemaker Fellowship, the Rochester Re-entry Coordinator, the Summer Enrichment Program, and Pathways to Peace, as well as expanded hours for youth to have safe havens at certain city R-Centers.

In addition, increased enforcement in “micro-hot spots,” in particular at locations with problem gatherings, has been a focus during Evans’ tenure.

Two such buildings were highlighted: an empty warehouse on Mount Read Boulevard and a “creative space” on State Street. Both held illegal parties with building owners being unaware, city representatives said. They mentioned that both owners cooperated with the city to improve building security and policies for the future.

While Evans also brought up youth shooting victims in his comments, those incidents actually have declined compared to recent years.

From 2020 to 2022, there were 20 fatal shooting victims each year who were 24 or younger, and at least 31 percent of all victims in that category. Last year, there were only five such victims.

More broadly, youth-involved shootings also have fallen in recent decades. In 2000, 61 percent of all shooting victims were 24 or younger. Twenty-four years later, that share has shrunk to 39 percent.

The number of victims 14 or younger is even smaller, averaging under 2 percent of total victims across two decades.

Partnerships and community outreach

City leadership has stressed the importance of both partnerships across organizations and community engagement.

“(The decline in crime) is the result of historic partnerships that we’ve been able to forge with law enforcement and agencies at every level of government,” Evans said. “Together we have implemented a three-prong strategy of prevention, intervention, and suppression that has been extremely effective.”

For the first time in a decade, RPD partnered with the attorney general’s office on a gun buyback initiative. While the overall effectiveness of such programs at large-scale change is open to debate, the effort saw more than 500 firearms returned, bringing the total recovered in 2024 to 1,174. Smith said nearly half of those were crime guns.

Ramped-up RPD community engagement, fueled by efforts from new positions such as Deputy Chief of Community Engagement Keith Stith, and Patrol Commander Michael DeSain, have seen positive results as well.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, besides the reduction in crime, the tremendous increase in community engagement that this department has seen over the past three years,” Smith said.

For example, Stith’s efforts resulted in Rochester hosting the inaugural Frederick Douglass HBCU Football Classic, an event Smith called a success at bridging gaps between law enforcement and the community.

In addition, DeSain has instituted a new policy where officers are now required to carry out two 15-minute walking sessions per patrol. During that time, they should engage with shop owners, patrons, or other passersby in the neighborhood. Smith said the department compliance rate for the new measure is at 90 percent.

“Community Affairs continues their walking post in the downtown area,” Smith added. “This gives us the ability to have dedicated foot patrol back in the downtown area, so that continues along with a significant amount of outreach to the homeless population.”

The removal of a homeless encampment along the Clinton Avenue bridge was criticized by some community members. Legislator Rachel Barnhart, for example, introduced a resolution in October supported by several other county lawmakers urging Evans, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, and the Monroe County sheriff to end encampment sweeps.

“It’s unfortunate that after legislators requested a moratorium on sweeps of homeless encampments, that we saw one occur during a winter blast of weather and right before Christmas,” she said in a statement on the day of the sweep.

“These sweeps are harmful, especially because the services offered don’t match the needs of the displaced people,” added Barnhart. “My thoughts are with all impacted by today’s sweep, and I call on all stakeholders to find more humane ways of solving the problem of homelessness.” 

City spokespeople defended the sweep, saying it was necessary to protect homeless individuals from extremely cold weather.

“The land on which the encampment was (located) is a city property, and we felt strongly that given the single-digit temperatures this weekend, it was important to connect the individuals there to Code Blue Shelters,” the statement read. “We offered transportation and are storing their property.”

For Evans, collaboration is key to lowering crime.

“I will tell you the reason why a lot of the numbers that you see are happening is not because (the mayor’s office) is so great,” he said. “It’s because the community has stepped up. I couldn’t ask for a better partner than the community groups and the businesses that we are working with.”

Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. 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].