RPD chief gives progress report on violence crackdown

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Federal, state and local law enforcement has been working together to arrest Rochester’s most violent for about two weeks now.

Rochester Police Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan gave a progress report on Wednesday.

In the two weeks before the effort, there were 21 shootings and five homicides.

Three of them were gun-related.

In the last two weeks, there have been 11 shootings and one homicide.

There clearly has been a decrease in shootings, but the chief says two weeks really isn’t enough to gauge the program’s success.

"This has not resulted in our neighborhoods being blanketed with a police presence,” Herriott-Sullivan said. “I want to emphasize that. That it’s a specific strategy. We’re targeting the most violence individuals to get them off the streets."

The chief says they’re on a 60-day path.

They will continue on that path and reassess the effort in September.

Watch the full press conference in the video below: