ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Are members of the Rochester Police Accountability Board required to do ride-alongs with officers?

If you visit the homepage on the PAB’s website, you’ll see the words “transparency, accountability, and change.” One way the board is trying to achieve those things is by joining officers while they’re on-duty.

Eileen writes: “I was just wondering if the members of the PAB are expected to do ride-alongs with RPD so that they can get a more realistic perspective on what police officers come up against on a regular basis?”

Not only are PAB members expected to do ride-alongs, they’re required to do them. The PAB says it’s “committed to training our staff and volunteer board members on the experiences of the Rochester Police Department to better inform them of the work these officers do daily.”

Another way the PAB says it’s trying to learn as much as possible about RPD operations is by participating in the Citizen Police Academy.

The city’s website says it’s a 10-week program that happens once a year that RPD started in 1992 with a goal of increasing public trust. Now, the academy is in the middle of a session that started on Jan. 10 and ends March 13.

The PAB says some board members have already completed ride-alongs. Others are in the process of scheduling them to be completed later this year.

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