Rochester Police Department statistics for the first half of the year show that crime is down in the city as of June.
Mayor Malik Evans and police officials presented the data during a news conference Tuesday. Evans said that the sustained decline in shootings, fatal shootings, and shooting injuries continues.
During the briefing, police Chief David Smith said there have been 15 homicides so far this year — compared to 16 at this point last year — with nine cases closed. He added that burglaries are down by 40%.
Evans said the levels of gun violence in Rochester are due largely to illegal guns and retaliatory disputes, adding that the city is investigating each shooting as if it were a homicide.
"These are all nonsense disputes that lead to violence that we're not going to tolerate," Evans said.
The update came after an unintentional shooting between two teens Tuesday morning in a Parsells Avenue home. City officials said they are taking several approaches to violence reduction, from community outreach events to mediating disputes so they don't turn violent.
Smith added that working with other law enforcement agencies, the department has recovered 105 stolen vehicles and seized 84 illegal dirt bikes and ATVs.
He also said the department's Traffic Safety Unit has been doing safety checkpoints, particularly along the Lake Avenue corridor. Officers have issued 506 speeding tickets year-to-date compared to 313 at the same time last year.
