For Rochester Police Officer Kyle Danie, it's all about community

Rochester Community Engagement Officer Kyle Danie down at police headquarters on Wakefield Street. (Rochester Voice photo)

ROCHESTER - Rochester Police Officer Kyle Danie says he's never thought about himself as being the "tip of the spear," but when it comes to being the public face of the Rochester Police Department, that's exactly what he is.

As the city's Community Engagement Officer, Danie, a five-year veteran of the force, works full time to develop and enhance creative ways for the department to strengthen its bonds with the city's people so police can better do their jobs of keeping the community as safe as possible.

From programs like Skate with a Cop, Rochester Teen Night, a program in the works called Coffee with a Cop to just playing some hoop or dodgeball with area youth, it's all about one thing, Danie says.

Trust.

"We need the public to trust us, and we need to trust the public," he says. "It's all about increasing that community bond."

Danie took a short leave from police work to try a job in the private sector only to realize wearing the blue was his life calling. He became Rochester's top liaison with the public earlier this year.

"I love it," he said of his new position. "I'm out in the public, and there's a lot of problem-oriented issues I deal with. There's also proactive things, problem solving, that comes in."

For instance, Danie keeps in touch with business owners to make sure they and their employees feel safe, especially at night.

"If they say people are hanging out near their business, I try to educate them on what to look for" to decide when a call to police may be prudent.

On one day Danie could be working on neighborhood drug issues and on another day thefts from cars, which typically spike up in summer months.

"If I see a lot of thefts from cars in a particular area at a particular time, I might walk around in plainclothes," he said.

But that's only a small fraction of his time, which also includes reaching out to community nonprofits and civic groups.

Right now he's working in partnership Jenn Marsh of the city's Economic Development Office to get ready for the mammoth Wings and Wheels event next month at Skyhaven Airport.

And tomorrow Danie will be at the Community Center serving up breakfast to city seniors.

As you can see, no two days for Danie are at all the same.

"The majority of my position is self-motivated," he says. "I like that."

With summer coming on, Danie's job will get even more frenetic and fluid.

Besides the Wings and Wheels event, some of his top priorities include getting the Coffee with a Cop program and a women's self-defense program up and running in the next month or so.

Coffee with a Cop would entail just what it sounds like.

"You get a place that sells coffee, and you sit down and talk with a cop, with no agenda," he says. "You're not promoting anything, you talk like a real person."

The importance in the way you talk to people is a recurring theme in Danie's philosophy of public engagement.

"It's how you talk to people, not just kids, everybody," he said. "One misstep can hurt the entire force.

"Even if you can't reach all of them you have to try. At the end of day you at least try to find some common ground."

His other pet project, the women's self-defense course, was born of several requests from women to learn those skills. He said right now he's looking for space and a few other logistical issues before starting the course this summer.

If it doesn't sound like Danie has enough on his plate, he's also a part-time instructor in the Law Enforcement against Drugs LEAD program, an assistant adviser to Police Explorers and a staff member at the Police Cadet Training Academy for youth aged 14-20 who are anticipating a career in police work.