Evans highlights gains in public safety, pledges continued focus

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, fresh off his reelection victory, touted declines in crime incidents—particularly shootings and car thefts—during a public safety press conference Thursday.

“Although I’m gratified by the numbers, I cannot be satisfied,” he said at a press conference Thursday, a familiar refrain in his remarks on public safety.

This follows a trend outlined by the Rochester Beacon this summer, which shows crime declining since its peak during a spike that began in 2021. Since then, incidents have dropped closer to their pre-COVID pandemic levels, especially violent crimes.

For example, Rochester Police Department data indicates there were 25 homicides from January to September. This is down from last year’s total of 33 for the same period and much lower than the heightened levels seen in 2021, 2022, and 2023, which had 54, 60, 43 homicides, respectively.

RPD data show the number of shooting victims is also closer to pre-COVID levels, with 112 nonfatal and 17 fatal victims through the third quarter of 2025. In 2019, those values were 109 nonfatal and 19 fatal victims. Also classified as a violent crime, robberies reached a record low during this time span, with 274 incidents through September.

“The stories behind the continued violence keeps me frustrated. What doesn’t show up in the numbers is the incredible level of irrational behavior that goes hand in hand with gun violence,” said Evans. “Combined with the continued presence of illegal guns, this continues to fuel this problem. And that’s why we continue to investigate every shooting, and non-fatal shooting, with the same relentless focus on justice.”

Corporation Counsel Patrick Beath reiterated the importance of the Gun Violence State of Emergency for quick responses in these cases. The state of emergency has been in place and renewed every month since 2022, granting the mayor the authority to quickly mobilize services from the RPD, the Office of Violence Prevention, and the Office of Recreation and Human Services. 

“When we think about victims of shootings, it’s at those parties and party locations that get out of hand and turn into gun violence that we see more victims, because there are more people there. And so we don’t have time to waste in those situations, and the mayor has to use the gun violence emergency order to shut those places down swiftly,” Beath said. “Under state law, the mayor has broad authority to handle an emergency, but he chooses to use these emergency closure orders in a narrow and strategic way, just targeting those businesses that get out of hand and are prone to gun violence.”

Beath said the emergency closure for businesses is five days. The city has issued seven closure orders since July.

Firearm-related crime continues to be most concentrated in the city’s Northeast quadrant, particularly in the North Clinton neighborhood. Following the overall trends, incidents are lower in those areas than in previous years, however.

More broadly, violent crime is most apparent in the Crescent neighborhoods directly outside the inner city. In addition, the eastern half of the inner city continues to have a higher proportion of violent incidents.

This includes the special East End entertainment district, a Special Event Zone that was designated by the mayor in 2024. The measure made the section a zone with age restrictions, the ability to limit types of traffic and search bags. Since its inception, Evans has sung its praises in decreasing crime in the area, but some business owners have lamented the decrease in business and foot traffic. 

Property crimes decreased through the end of September. Incidents of larceny, and particularly burglaries, are at their lowest rate in RPD records, which date back to 2011.

Motor vehicle thefts remain significantly higher than usual at 1,149, but they are much lower than the spike experienced in 2023 (3,280) and an improvement from last year (1,538). Since that spike, Rochester became part of a lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai for their negligent security practices, with the manufacturers later offering free security software upgrades.

“This (decrease) is due to not only prevention efforts among car manufacturers, public awareness efforts, but significant enforcement efforts continuing with our partnership with the state police in the Dove Project, which resulted in 215 arrests for stolen vehicles in the first three quarters of this year,” said RPD Chief David Smith.

The Dove Initiative went into full effect this summer, with the special public safety detail partnering the RPD, New York State Police, and Monroe County Sheriff’s Department along with several suburban agencies. Smith has previously said that pooled resources include as many as 60 officers to assist in investigations and traffic stops, as well as ticket and warrant issuances.

Property crime, which includes larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, continues to be concentrated primarily in the Eastern quadrant of the city, with the majority of incidents occurring in the East End and neighborhoods surrounding the University of Rochester. Motor vehicle-related crime is also concentrated in the East End, which typically has a lively nightlife and increased activity during peak crime hours.

Smith also mentioned the Statewide Targeted Reductions of Intimate Partner Violence at the press conference. The program is a partnership between RPD, the District Attorney’s Office, the Monroe County Office of Probation, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Willow Domestic Violence Center. 

The program has been operating for six months, supported by a $2 million grant. So far, it has identified a dozen specific high-risk situations in which a targeted coordinated response was initiated, Smith said.

“At the last STRIVE meeting, I was informed that, again, RPD is leading the way statewide, and we are months ahead of other agencies initiating their STRIVE programs,” he reported. “Although in its infancy, this STRIVE program is continuing to grow and show positive results.”

In addition, STRIVE is in the process of hiring a civilian coordinator and civilian analyst with a detective assigned full-time to RPD’s Domestic Violence Investigation Team soon, Smith announced.

Warning tickets will be issued through the end of the year for violations captured by the new school bus stop-arm cameras. The camera installation was confirmed by the Rochester City School District this summer and is part of the city’s Vision Zero program, which aims to increase road safety.

Beginning in January 2026, fines will be imposed— starting at $250 for the first offense and increasing by $25 for each subsequent violation, with a maximum of $300 per offense.

Also in RCSD schools is an anti-violence organization, Pathways to Peace, which has been embedded in nine schools this year, according to Zequa Tookes, director of the Office of Violence Prevention. He said that OVP is looking to strengthen its approach to meet students where they are and engage more with families.

OVP’s Advance Peace program, which rehabilitates former gun offenders through an 18-month program of mentorship and cognitive behavior therapy, is entering its fourth cohort this year, Tookes said.

“Going into my second term, we’ll continue these same public safety briefings. We thought that it was important and imperative that we inform the public,” the mayor said. “This is an all-hands-on-deck approach as it relates to public safety. We have made great progress over the last four years. We look forward to making even more great progress over the next couple of years.”

Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. Narm Nathan is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s inaugural cohort..

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