As data shows that the rate of murder per capita in Rochester, northern New York, exceeds that of even Chicago, one of America’s most notoriously violent large cities, local officials there are embracing police intervention with federal assistance to combat gun violence.
Speaking alongside federal officials last week, Rochester Interim Police Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan announced that a federal task force would be working over the next 60 days to curb gun violence in the upstate New York city, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
“Would you all agree that if police were the answer, we wouldn’t have this issue right now?” Herriott-Sullivan posed to activists at the news conference, before admitting data gathered by the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office determined some suspects are released too quickly, WHAM reported.
There have been 37 homicide victims in Rochester so far this year through July 12, according to public data posted by the Rochester Police Department. Because the latest FBI data available from 2019 shows that the Rochester Police Department serves a population of 205,769 people, that means that so far this year Rochester has had 18.0 homicide victims per 100,000 residents — a higher rate than Chicago. – READ MORE
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