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Scary, dangerous? Crime stats show it just ain't so

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Rochester's downtown is as safe any night of the week as it is in this picture, taken in December the night of the city's Christmas tree lighting ceremony. (Rochester Voice file photo)

ROCHESTER - There may be a perception among Rochester residents that the downtown is scary, that it's unsafe to walk the streets at night and that danger lurks between every vacant storefront and alley, but an analysis of crime statistics obtained by The Rochester Voice shows that's simply not the case.

Rochester Police utilize the services of a full-time crime statistician who routinely tracks crime all over the city, including the downtown.

The results of an analysis of those statistics by The Rochester Voice shows that during 2017 there was not a single armed robbery in the downtown. Not even a single unarmed robbery.

In fact, with armed robberies at Dollar General on Milton Road and the Milton Road Shell last year, you could argue you're safer downtown than anywhere else in the city.

So in the wake of comments made at last week's State of the City breakfast that referred to the downtown as "scary," Rochester Police Chief Paul Toussaint reacted strongly on Thursday, saying those statements are simply not grounded in fact.

"It's a false perception," he said. "Our criminal activity in the downtown just doesn't bear out that perception."

For the purposes of crime stat data, Rochester's downtown comprises 1-140 South Main, 1-141 North Main, Union Street, Hanson Street, 1-78 Wakefield St., Barker Court, 1-22 Summer St., Central Avenue, 48-180 Portland St., Dreyer Way, Knight Street and 1-424 Columbus Ave.

It's true that among those areas there is a significant amount of crime, especially on North Main, South Main and Knight Street, where all of the crimes originated at the Cumberland Farms there.

Other commercial hubs for petty crimes like willful concealment or theft include George and Ed's on North Main and Walgreens Drug on South Main.

During last year, in all there were 35 crime incidents reported on Knight Street, 87 on South Main and 80 on North Main. Other numbers included four on Union, 11 on Hanson, 10 on Wakefield, seven on Barker Court, three on Summer Street, two on Central Avenue, three on Portland, two on Dreyer Way and 11 on Columbus Avenue.

The great preponderance of crimes overall include willful concealment at a business, drug possession, and simple assaults.

But make no mistake about it. The crimes that are being committed do not put the pubic at risk, Toussaint stressed.

"There is no random crimes here, there's no one getting mugged by someone they don't know," he said. "What crime is happening is usually either a domestic, or a disagreement on a drug deal."

Toussaint added that "no citizen of Rochester should be in fear walking downtown in Rochester anytime, day or night."

Would he be leery about letting either of his two children walk downtown to a show at the Rochester Opera House, the library or a bite to eat?

"No," he says emphatically.

In fact, Chief Toussaint, who has been with Rochester Police for 26 years, the first six working in dispatch, said he can't recall ever an incident in which someone in the downtown got randomly mugged or assaulted.

And while there is some violent crime, it's with those trafficking or using drugs or perhaps a domestic incident in a downtown apartment house, he said.

"It's not dangerous unless you're in the subculture, those are the victims of most of our crime," he added.

However, as vehemently as Toussaint protests the characterization of the downtown as "scary" as some have called it, he does realize that "perception is reality."

With that in mind, he said on Thursday that during the summer months there will be an increased presence of police walking the downtown and on bicycle patrol, something that wasn't possible last year due to staffing shortages.

Toussaint expects the bicycle unit to be increased by 10 and along with foot beats and efforts from the community engagement officer, he hopes to be able to "deter negative activity and get better security for those who may feel unsafe" for whatever reason.

He also urged residents that if they feel uncomfortable from an experience downtown to call police.

"If they feel unsafe, give us a call and we'll try to rectify the situation," he said. "Frequently I hear people say, 'I didn't think it was big enough to call police.' It's OK. Call us so we can address these quality of life issues, too."

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