Center for Public Safety Initiatives

The work of CPSI began in 2000 with work on the problem of lethal violence in Rochester.  Although related work goes back to the early 1990’s under Mayor Tom Ryan, initiatives continued and expanded under subsequent Mayors.  The focus on homicide in Rochester in 2000 involved a research partnership with the Rochester Police, local probation and parole, Monroe County District Attorney and the United States Attorney United States for the Western District, under what was known as the Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative (SACSI).

The SACSI work led directly to the reformulation of crime analysis at RPD which was eventually the model for the Monroe Crime Analysis Center (MCAC) and other analysis centers across the state and are supported by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.  The local analysis center’s key staff began as RIT students working for CPSI. CPSI continues to support crime analysis in Rochester with eight full time employees currently working at MCAC with funding from the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). The SACSI has also produced several other benefits for Rochester, and became institutionalized with federal funding from Project Safe Neighborhoods.

As the fiscal agent for many projects, CPSI brought funding to local agencies in the amount of 10.8 million dollars over the past 8 years to help address the issue of violence and crime in Rochester.

Through the US Department of Justice, CPSI also brought funding for the Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative (CAGI).  Of that, significant funding went for law enforcement, principally through RPD; it also went for anti-gang services thorough. We are also working with RPD on a Department of Justice SMART policing initiative involving addressing dispute related violence in Rochester.

For a complete list of partner CPSI works with please refer to the "Sponsor and Partners" page of this website.

CPSI is focused on conducting locally relevant research.  In addition to securing funding for local Rochester area government and not-for-profit organization projects, CPSI continuously conducts local research for use by its partner agencies and organizations and the public as well.  Some of this research is funded through Project Impact from DCJS through the Rochester Police Department.  These funds are primarily used to support student researchers who gain valuable research and practical experience. With their work at the crime analysis center and RPD it seems likely that some of the students will go on to make further contributions through employment with the city as other CPSI researchers have. The projects completed under this effort are reflected in the “Working Papers” sections on our website.

All of the research done through CPSI is intended to provide useful and practical knowledge to assist in addressing public safety concerns in the community.  The research is made available through the working papers and is widely presented and discussed in the community by the researchers and others from CPSI.  The research partnership between CPSI and the Rochester Police Department and other local agencies and organizations has been recognized as a model research partnership by the National Institute of Justice. 

That an individual's compassion and empathy for others obligates one to a commitment to the cause of social justice.

That citizens deserve public institution that operate efficiently, effectively, and transparently, leveraging best practices in an unyielding effort to improve.

That everyone, regardless of race, sex, gender identity, sexual preference, economic class, or other category, deserves a safe community to live in, and to live free from fear of victimization.

That the world is not just, and is not safe, and is not free from victimization, so we must find ways to change those conditions.

That if you are an academic, and you care about social justice, you must find ways to engage practitioners to do work that helps them, and that if you are a practitioner, you must seek out ways to improve your organization through research and analysis.

That to make these changes, research should be action-oriented, so that it can be applied to practical problems of the real world. 

That science can be used for great good, but can also be manipulated, so your work must always be methodologically rigorous and of the highest ethical standard.

That you do good work because you care about the work. That you don't have to be the smartest to succeed, you just have to be passionate and willing to work harder than others. 

And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, that you seek to change the world not only by influencing organizations and systems, but by enlisting people to the cause through teaching and mentorship.

Blue Courage is a national in-serve police training program designed to improve the mental and emotional health of police officers. One key to the training is convincing officers to use breathing techniques and meditation to regulate their mental and emotional state. Overall, a ‘guardianship mentality’ is taught via seven principles in the Blue Courage program: Police Culture, Nobility, Respect, Practical Wisdom, Positive Psychology, Health and Wellness, and Resilience. CPSI is analyzing what makes the program likeliest to be successful. The researcher’s data allows him to capture fidelity to the model, the “star teacher” effect of master trainers, and to investigate the specific processes that bear to each principle. That is, the data investigation will involve not only whether the model is being replicated correctly or how, but if its components have design strengths across sites.

This project is assessing the views of prosecutors, public defenders, and other criminal justice actors as it relates to BWC video footage. The assessment will be done in collaboration with JSS and the deputy district attorney in San Diego County. The project timeframe is June 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. Three sites have been selected for this engagement: prosecutor and public defender offices in Monroe County, New York, Austin, Texas and Escondido, California. The project includes an online survey of the staff of these offices, in-person interviews with prosecutors and public defenders, and the collection of data pertinent to arrests and prosecutions that involve video footage.

The objective of this project is to study the elements of a non-fatal shooting investigation that are associated with a successful arrest. Types of clearance include Administrative Clearance, Exceptional Clearance, Field, and Cleared by Arrest. In order to ensure public safety, it is important for police departments to clear shooting investigations by arresting the suspect responsible, thereby deterring future activity. The arrest of a suspect is counted as cleared within the clearance rate of a police department, and is listed within the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) published annually by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Clearance rates are a manner through which a police agency’s effectiveness may be judged; however cases may also be cleared by exceptional or administrative clearance, in which no suspect is arrested. Exceptional clearance is counted the same as an arrest within the UCR (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2004) and may inflate the overall clearance rate.

Dispute-involved gun victimization is traumatic, costly, measurable, predictable--and avoidable. The grant request for $194,540.62 for Community Engagement to Reduce Victimization (CERV) will support engaging community partners with victims of gun violence to resolve underlying disputes with tailored approaches predicted to decrease retaliatory victimization. Retaliatory violence is a serious problem in Rochester, NY. 60% of shootings that occurred in the City between 2010 and 2013 were linked to retaliatory disputes. Existing efforts to address the problem have been in isolation of one another and have failed to adequately leverage community resources to develop a comprehensive, community-based, public-health informed response.

CERV will strengthen safety-net providers in the region, reaching more people by linking previously isolated systems together before new violent events unfold and further victimizations occur. The health care system will connect victims of violent gun trauma to CERV. The Center for Public Safety Initiatives will provide expertise to inform whether the victimization is centered on a dispute. A system of safety net providers will engage and triage appropriate cases with interventions to reduce subsequent gun victimization. The objective of CERV is to improve the quality and effectiveness of the health system in a measurable way by reducing gun violence and trauma victimization; and strive to help safety net providers reach and intervene with gun victims before new victimization events unfold.

With a goal to provide the Monroe County GIVE partnership with information on community attitudes and concrete recommendations for strengthening police/community relations, the Procedural Justice research grant will conduct focus groups in the community, led by an independent contractor with support from two student researchers and under the direction of the principle Investigator to conduct at least one focus group per month but ideally two per month, collect data on community views of police, present results, and provide the Gun Involved Violence Elimination partnership with recommendations for strengthening police/community relations and report findings to DCJS and the community.

The Center for Public Safety Initiatives (CPSI) is studying individuals with warrants through a criminological and social welfare lenses. Bench warrants are issued for failure to appear or pay fines, but it is unknown if this is due to inability to pay or other issues. Traffic violations, which carry no jail time, are the most common original offense for bench warrants. The most frequent result of a bench warrant is an arrest and jail stay, which is disruptive to lives. Bench warrants may actually increase harm, as they place multiple civic limitations on individuals, such as driver’s license suspension and social service eligibility. The purpose of this study is to provide a description and explanation of living with low-level fugitive status, defined as having a bench warrant. Individuals with bench warrants, trusted friends of these individuals, and criminal justice experts will be interviewed on a wide-range of topics. Interviews will be synthesized into a report that describes the process of becoming a low-level fugitive, adjustment strategies, and managing this status. Actionable policy and practice steps to resolve problems associated with active warrants will be developed. The findings will help to improve criminal justice system processing, legal policy, and practice, while improving and stabilizing conditions for individuals with warrants.

The Center for Public Safety Initiatives (CPSI) provides support personnel for the Monroe Gun- Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative, including a dedicated Crime Analyst and Community Engagement Specialist These positions are housed in the Monroe Crime Analysis Center, located at the City of Rochester’s Public Safety Building and jointly supervised by the Rochester Police Department (RPD) and the Consultant. The crime analyst’s activities include developing targeted firearm offender and firearm hotspot programs; coordinating all targeted offender and hotspot based research, planning, and activity between the GIVE partner agencies; as well as creating and maintaining a criteria-based method for identifying high-risk firearm violence offenders, along with other tasks. The Community Engagement Specialist is developing a local communications strategy for firearm violence prevention, promoting GIVE internally and externally though presentations, literature, new media, and strategic marketing, and other activities.

Homeless Gap Analysis is a tool to enable the Rochester community to identify and inventory existing resources, define what resources we ideally need to effectively respond to homelessness, and describe the gap between the actual and potential response to homelessness here. The community can then prioritize those gaps to create a robust homelessness response system in Rochester, NY. By surveying service providers and homeless individuals, we learned the unmet needs in Monroe County include: a lack of emergency shelter beds, a lack of shared responsibility to provide hospitality beds (overnight stays that are not cost-reimbursed by the County); difficulty placing homeless individuals who have been previously imprisoned; difficulty placing homeless individuals who are sex offenders; the common presence of numerous prerequisites that must be met prior to obtaining permanent housing; inadequate staffing in shelters; differing definitions of homelessness between HUD and local service providers, and other gaps.

Ibero American Action League was awarded the BYRNE grant in November 2017, under CBCR, or innovations in Community Based Crime Reduction for Project CLEAN. The RIT Center for Public Safety Initiatives (CPSI) is the sub-awardee Research Partner. Project CLEAN (Community, Law Enforcement, and Assistance Network) target area (TA) is in the El Camino Revitalization Area, in Rochester NY, in many ways a wonderful neighborhood with incredible assets, most notably its people, but which is primarily known today for its socioeconomic and crime problems. This project will develop a partnership for the planning and implementation of coordinated strategies to “CLEAN” the North Clinton Avenue neighborhood of its heroin challenge, improve safety and reduce crime, increase connections to services for those who are heroin addicted, and support City and neighborhood revitalization efforts that will allow residents and businesses to reclaim this vital business district.

R.I.T. Center for Public Safety Initiatives, the Project CLEAN Research Partner, will create a baseline assessment of challenge in area; lead Cross-Sector partners in identification, review, and selection of appropriate evidence-based solutions; develop strong outcomes measures; lead participatory research and observations; evaluate effectiveness of strategies; disseminate findings in an ongoing manner to ensure informed decision making and resource allocation. For this particular project, our work plan will assure that analysis plays a leading role in understanding the problem, developing strategies to address it, and evaluating the program impacts. CPSI is committed to the mission and success of Project CLEAN, and will work together to guide the planning and implementation to achieve its strategic objectives.

The Center for Public Safety Initiatives (CPSI) at RIT is tasked with managing Monroe Crime Analysis Center (MCAC). CPSI will continue to manage this analysis center for years 2017-2018. MCAC is accountable for all Part I crime categories and intelligence within the designated Police Service Areas (PSAs). The analysts will be responsible daily for maintenance of related data, the identification of crime patterns/trends and dissemination of intelligence products. Additionally, the analysts will work closely with the quad Captains and Investigative Coordinators to supplement problem based action plans and response tactics.

The purpose of the Niagara Falls Project Safe Neighborhoods is to reduce gun crime and gang violence by implementing a strategy that focuses on dispute-related violence. This strategy will be evidence based, research driven, intelligence-led, and involve a strategic problem solving approach to reducing firearm crimes and gang violence. Led by the Niagara Falls Police Department, the Niagara Falls PSN team will utilize enforcement, deterrence, and community outreach/engagement strategies to intervene in ongoing retaliatory disputes and prevent subsequent violence. The objective of the Niagara Falls PSN are to (1) Establish and expand evidence- based programming in Niagara Falls that enables the PSN team to effectively and sustainably prevent and respond to gun crime and gang violence; (2) Establish a sustainable research partnership with RIT’s Center for Public Safety Initiatives that is integrated into the strategic and tactical operations of the PSN team and community agencies; (3) Foster effective and consistent collaborations among law enforcement partners in Niagara Falls, external agencies such Niagara University, and the communities in which they serve that increase public safety and minimize gun crime and gang violence; (4) Create and maintain coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, with an emphasis on prevention, and tactical intelligence gathering.

The Center for Public Safety Initiatives (CPSI) at RIT is tasked with managing current staff at the Northern Country Crime Analysis Center located in Malone, New York. CPSI will continue to manage this analysis center for years 2017-2018. CPSI will help implement evidence based policing strategies and assist in creating its connection with law enforcement agencies in the local area. The primary function of this center is to analyze crime within the area, and to provide this information to local law enforcement to assist in selecting more effective tactics and formulating strategies to significantly reduce crime, with an emphasis on violent crime and gun related crime. The Center is staffed with a team of crime analysts and sworn law enforcement members who support area law enforcement agencies in their efforts to track and reduce Part I Crime.

The project involves review, research, and analysis of case files and other material on site at the Federal building in Rochester NY, and is intended to enhance understanding of certain offenders managed by the U.S. Western Federal Probation (WDNY) to allow for informed policy and training decisions.

TIPS is a community outreach program supported by the Rochester Police Department that aims to give residents the opportunity to voice their concerns about their community. RIT provides the community survey for the TIPS events. The survey includes questions regarding what residents like about the community, community concerns about crime, as well as other related questions.

Swift, Certain, and Fair is a probation program for violent gun offenders ages 16-24 to help reduce gun violence and recidivism rates in the Monroe County. The evaluation includes interviewing, observing court procedures and participant screenings, and collecting data from stakeholders to determine program success. The researchers will work with the judge, the DA, Probation, et al., to formulate a research design for comparison groups within all initially screened SCF participants (247 individuals); create comparison groups and delineate elements of each group (e.g., SCF participants/straight probation sentence/prison sentence/12 month interim + 5 years’ probation) (elements of each group may be risk to community; ADA recommendation; etc.); and to write a Final Report Measurable Outcomes of SCF participants and the SCF Final Guide/Manual to aid in replication of the program.

• Michael Barnard
• Aaron Baxter
• Frank Battaglini
• Karyn Bower
• Douglas Bullock
• Christina Burnett
• Saulia Cruz
• Nathaly Cabrera Delgado
• Michelle Comeau
• Danielle DiGaspari
• Audrey Di Poala
• Erin Doyle
• Tristen Durand
• Keith Ericksen
• Liam Fanning
• Juan Fernandez Hawa
• Pamela Flemming
• Jordan Gates
• Arindam Ghosh
• Jose Gratereaux De Los Santos
• Shayna Gray
• Casey Hammond
• Zahal Kohistani
• Dorothy King
• Ryan Lamon
• Michael Langenbacher
• Nate LeMahieu
• Isaac Lenhard
• Kyle Letteney
• Na Liu
• George Mackenzie
• Alysia Mason
• Akshay Paliwal
• Jaleesa Panico
• Lakshmi Raman
• Christopher Roberts
• Tayler Ruggero
• Sujeong Seo
• Chaquan Smith
• Avanelle St. Bernard
• Carly Stephens
• Chris Sweadner
• Danielle Turenne
• Pedro Vazquez
• Ye (Calla) Wang

• Spring 2013
• Fall 2012
• Summer 2012
• Fall/Winter 2010

• Evaluation Issues: A Practical Discussion for Small Agencies and Not-for-Profit Organizations

• After Newtown: The Gun Debate Redux Vol. 1
• After Newtown:  The Gun Debate Redux Vol. 2

• COVID-19 Pandemic and the Opioid Epidemic
• 2019 Overdoses in Monroe County
• 2019 Overdoses in Project CLEAN Target Area 
• 2018 Opioid Overdose Data in the Project CLEAN Hot Spot Area
• 2018 Fatal and Non-Fatal Opioid Overdose Data in the Project CLEAN Target Area
• Project CLEAN Steering Committee Assessment Analysis
• Analysis of the Rochester Police Department Community Engagement Patrols
• Overdose Data 2018 in Monroe County
• Project CLEAN:Research Partner Presentation
• 2017 AMR and MCAC Combined Overdose Data and Demographics
• 2017 AMR and MCAC Combined Overdose Data
• Top Offenses in Rochester: Citywide, by Police Section, and in the Project CLEAN Target Area
• A Brief History of Puerto Ricans in Rochester
• Understanding Opioids: A General Overview of Monroe County, New York
• AMR Fatal and Non-Fatal Overdose Responses in The Project CLEAN Target Area: 2017
• AMR Fatal and Non-Fatal Overdose Response Citywide in Rochester, NY: 2017
• Drug Overdose: What Is it and Why Does it Matter?
• El Camino Neighborhood Description Using U. S. Census Data
• Project CLEAN Triad
• Harm Reduction and the Opioid Epidemic
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design [CPTED]: Designing Out Opportunity and Fear
• Narcan Certification Training: Clinton Family Health Center
• Vacant Structures and Lots in the El Camino Neighborhood
• Drug Market Intervention
• Chasing the Data: Monroe County Opioid-Related Data

• Survey Reveals Barriers to Successful Ex-Offender Re-Entry

• Preliminary Descriptive Analysis of the Rochester Shooting Database
• An Exploration of Gun Violence and Prevention: Databases as Prevention (Paper 2 of 3)
• An Exploration of Gun Violence and Prevention: Background on Gun Violence (Paper 1 of 3)
• Toward a Research Agenda for the Rochester Shooting Database

• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Fernwood Park TIPS Initiatives (July 2019)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Arnett and Genesee Intersection TIPS Initiatives (June 2019)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Jones Park TIPS Initiatives (May 2019)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Clinton Avenue TIPS Initiative(August 2018)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Flint Street TIPS Initiative(June 2018)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Jones Park TIPS Initiative(May 2018)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Edgerton Park Street TIPS Compared to TIPS Average (August 2016)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Norton Village TIPS Compared to TIPS Average (July 2016)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Genesee & McCree Street TIPS Compared to TIPS Average (June 2016)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Carter & Norton Street TIPS Initiative (August 2015)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Avenue D TIPS Initiative (July 2015)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Grand & Chamberlain TIPS Initiative (June 2015)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Troup Street TIPS Initiative (May 2015)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Comparing Responses to Jefferson Avenue TIPS Survey over Time (2009-2014) (written 2015)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Scio Street TIPS Initiative (May 2014)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Chamberlain & Grand TIPS Initiative (June 2014)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jefferson Avenue TIPS Initiative (July 2014)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jay Street TIPS Initiative (August 2014)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Pulaski Park TIPS Initiative (May 2013)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Jefferson Avenue TIPS Initiative (July 2013)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Parkside TIPS Initiative (January 2013)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Aberdeen Park TIPS Initiative (July 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Pulaski Park TIPS Initiative (July 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jones Square TIPS Initiative (July 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Conkey and Clifford TIPS Initiative (May 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Frost Avenue TIPS Initiative (May 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jones Square TIPS Initiative (May 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Ontario and Scio TIPS Initiative: THE RETURN (May 2011)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Ontario and Scio TIPS Initiative (July 2010)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Lyell Avenue TIPS Initiative (May 2010)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Hudson Avenue TIPS Initiative (November 2009)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jefferson Avenue TIPS Initiative (April 2009)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Dayton Street TIPS Initiative (February 2009)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Driving Park and Dewey (September 2008)

• A Philosophical Shift in Policing: Blue Courage
• Big Data Project
• Case Clearance Project in Rochester, NY: Data from the RPD Open Portal
• Defining Homelessness
• Disrupting the Open-Air Heroin Market in Rochester, NY
• Getting to the Roots: Boricuas in Rochester
• Gun Involved Violence Elimination-Rochester, NY
• Homeless Needs and Gaps Analysis: Unmet Needs
• Homicide Statistics for 2017
• Living with Warrants: Life Under the Sword of Damocles
• Project Safe Neighborhoods Dispute Related Violence Intervention
• Swift, Certain, and Fair
• What is CPSI?

• 2016 Homicides
• Community Views of Criminal Justice
• Comparing the Attitudes of Police Body-Worn Cameras
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
• Data Visualization of Rochester Violence
• Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative
• Gun Involved Violence Elimination Offender Orientations
• Shooting Case Clearance
• Swift, Certain & Fair Probation Program in Rochester, New York
• The Homeless Gap Analysis Investigating the Homeless Response System in Rochester, N.Y.
• The United States Opioid Epidemic

• Body Worn Cameras:  Na Liu, Casey Hammond, Avanelle St. Bernard
• Case Clearance:  Chris Sweadner
• Community Views on Criminal Justice:  Chaquan Smith, Christina Burnett, Mary Beth Spinelli
• Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative:  Dr. Lisa Clark, Jamie Dougherty
• Monroe County Criminal Justice by the Numbers:  Akshay Paliwal
• Near-Repeat Analysis of Violent Crimes:  Casey Hammond
• School Arrest Diversion Project:  Saulia (Jessy) Cruz
• SNUG Street Outreach Program:  Alysia Mason and Dr. Jason Willis
• Swift, Certain, and Fair:  Na Liu
• Comparative Analysis of 2015 TIPS Sites:  Nate Le Mahieu
• Crime Analysis Use of Social Media:  Shayna Gray, Carolyn Cassidy

• Calla Wang & Chris Roberts - Crime Victimization Trends in Rochester
• Carolyn Cassidy - What is Crime Analysis?
• Christina Burnett - TIPS Initiative
• Dr. Lisa Clark, Dr. Jason Willis, & Alysia Mason - GIVE Initiative
• Jamie Dougherty & Calla Wang - Juvenile Probration Process Reforms
• Jamie Dougherty & Jason Willis - Recommendations for Street Outreach Programs
• Jamie Dougherty & Pamela Flemming - Teen Empowerment Youth-Police Dialogues
• Jeff Clark - SNUG
• Jessica Nhial - Gun-Involved Violence Elimination Initiative Call-Ins
• Nathaly Cabrera-Delgado - Comparing Cities' Homicide Rates
• Shakierah Smith & Frank Battaglini - Anti-Violence Media Campaigns
• Zahal Kohistani - Correlates and Effects of School Suspensions

• Arindam Ghosh: Demographics and Crime Clearance Rates in Rochester
• Arindam Ghosh: Small Number of Blocks Account for Lots of Crime
• Audrey Dipoala: Developing a Shooting Victim Database
• Audrey DiPoala: Typology of Assault Shootings
• Douglas Bullock: Open-Air Drug Markets
• George Mackenzie: Cold Case Investigation
• Karyn Bower: Crime In Rochester, 2012
• Karyn Bower: Firearm Related Crime
• Lakshmi Raman: Step by Step Re-Entry Family Circles
• Michaeal Langenbacher: Trust Information Programs Services (T.I.P.S.)
• Micheal Langenbacher: Repeat Victimization Database
• Pedro Vazquez: Open-Air Marijuana Markets: Rochester Drug-Free Street Initiative

Special Project: Rochester Monroe County Homeless Needs and Gaps Analysis (2018)

This is something different- not the usual research paper from us (as good as they may be). This is a construction project. We are trying to build a plan- or at least lay the foundation, and we would like your help.

Send us your ideas on specific programs or interventions that you think can help reduce levels of violence in this community. They may be things that are already being done or they may be new and even untried ideas. They may be ideas for programs run by not-for-profits, or they may be ideas for law enforcement or the courts, or even private businesses. Tell us what you think makes sense. Email your ideas to us at cpsi@rit.edu

We are looking for ideas from everyone who wants to contribute. So, announce it in your staff meeting, or your classroom or just among your friends. Encourage everyone you come across to think about this issue and to send in their ideas. We want to reach out as widely as possible. The issue is too important not to.

What we will do: Our research staff will carefully review all of the ideas to see if they have been tried elsewhere and if there have been evaluations of them or other research that may be relevant. We will produce a summary of each suggested program or idea, a notation as to whether it is being done in the community or elsewhere, and a rating that may range anywhere from effective to promising, not effective, negative effects and unclear or unknown. We will periodically send out the reviews, as we do with our research papers and we will continually update the results on our web page.

Our reports will not include the names of anyone who submits an idea. So if you want credit for, or ownership of an idea, don’t send it to us. And, for the record, we will not include ideas that we do not think are appropriate for review.

We think this can be a useful addition to a community conversation about the problem of violence. We are not, however, trying to reinvent the wheel. Good and useful work at the national level has been done. See www.crimesolutions.gov from the US Bureau of Justice Assistance for an excellent collection of information on programs that work. It will be a starting point for us. The science is important, and we will report out the best research available, but so is suitability. We will also consider how well programs may address our own local problems and match our local resources.

We think this will be an ongoing project. It may result in the essay that never ends. As new ideas come out or old ones get evaluated we will add them to our list. With that we will be building a local repository for information about effective violence reduction efforts.

We hope that you will participate and encourage others to send in their ideas. Please contact us if you have any questions or comments. And…Email your ideas to us at cpsi@rit.edu

Sincerely,
John M. Klofas, Ph.D.
Janelle Duda, MSW
Center for Public Safety Initiatives (CPSI)

• Rochester Homicide Statistics for 2019
• Officer Wellness During a Global Pandemic: Long Term Recommendations for Police Leaders as They Navigate the Aftermath of COVID-19
• COVID-19 Pandemic and the Opioid Epidemic
• The Impact of COVID-19 on Community Based Responses to Violence

• Living with Warrants: Life under the Sword of Damocles 2019
• Rochester Homicide Statistics for 2018
• Community Concerns and Desires Analysis of Jones Park TIPS Initiatives May 2019
• Community Concerns and Desires Analysis of Arnett and Genesee Intersection TIPS Initiatives June 2019
• Community Concerns and Desires Analysis of Fernwood Park TIPS Initiatives July 2019
• Fatal and Nonfatal Shootings 2015-2018
• Gun-Involved Violence Elimination- An Overview
• Local Criminal Justice Data, Part II in a Series 2019
• Overdoses in Monroe County 2018

• Local Criminal Justice Data Part I: Police Staff and Population (2018)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Clinton Avenue TIPS Initiative(August 2018)
• An Analysis of a Police Program's Post-Training Tool (June 2018)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Flint Street TIPS Initiatives (June 2018)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jones Park TIPS Initiative (May 2018)
• 2018 Imagine RIT Survey Results: Perceptions of Gun Policies (May 2018)
• Periodic Catalog of Current and Emerging Responses to the Opiod Epidemic-Updated 07.19.18
• Defining an Overdose: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
• Shooting Case Clearance in Rochester, NY 2018-07
• Rochester Homicide Statistics for 2017

• Overview of Monroe County Jail population 10-2-2017 Roster and Census
• Overview of Annual Survey Data Across Three New York County Jails from 2010 – 2015
• Chasing the Data: Monroe County Opiod-Related Data
• Analysis of Rochester/Monroe County Gun Violence Reductions Efforts
• Swift, Certain, & Fair: Defense Attorneys' Views of the Program
• Lake Officers' Perception of Body Worn Cameras in Policing Before Implementation: An Executive Summary
• Genesee Officers' Perception of Body Worn Cameras in Policing After Implementation: An Executive Summary
• Goodman and Genesee Officers' Perception of Body Worn Cameras in Policing Before Implementation: An Executive Summary
• Clinton Officers' Perception of Body Worn Cameras in Policing After Implementation: An Executive Summary
• Community Views of Body Worn Cameras in the Rochester Police Department: An Executive Summary
• Clinton Officers' Perception of Body Worn Cameras in Policing Before Implementation: An Executive Summary
• Analysis of the 2017 Imagine RIT Attendees’ Perceptions of Opioids and the Opioid Epidemic​
• Fluctuations in Rochester Homicides and Shootings from 2000 to 2016
• 2017 Imagine RIT Attendees' Perceptions of Opioids and the Opioid Epidemic
• An Overview of Procedural Justice
• Community Views on Criminal Justice: Methodology
• Community Organizations' Views of the Rochester Police Department: Part 1
• Community Organizations' Views of the Rochester Police Department: Part 2
• Rochester Police Department's Efforts to Strengthen Community Relations

• Five Criminal Justice Policy Choices in New York: Opinions From the Imagine RIT 2016 Survey
• Community Views on Criminal Justice: Quarter 4 Report
• Best Practices in Police-Community Relations in Two Cities with Large Populations
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Edgerton Park TIPS Compared to TIPS Average (August 2016)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Norton Village TIPS Compared to TIPS Average (July 2016)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Genesee & McCree Street TIPS Compared to TIPS Average (June 2016)
• Community Views on Criminal Justice - Third Quarter Report
• Five Criminal Justice Policy Choices in NY:  Opinions from the Imagine RIT 2016 Survey
• Community Views on Criminal Justice - Second Quarter Report
• Comparison of Cities' Homicide Rates Over Time:  2016 Update
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Carter & Norton Street TIPS Initiative (August 2015)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Avenue D TIPS Initiative (July 2015)
• Swift, Certain, and Fair Focus Group Report
• Community Views on Criminal Justice:  First Quarterly Report

• How Urban Violence is Addressed in the Media:  Differences by Audience
• Local Anti-Violence Media Products and Design Decisions
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Grand Avenue TIPS Initiative (June 2015)
• Core Information about Community Violence
• School Suspension that Works (School suspension paper 3 of 3)
• Alternatives to Out-of-School Suspension (School suspension paper 2 of 3)
• Comparison of Cities' Homicide Rates Over Time
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Troup Street TIPS Initiative (May 2015)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Comparing Responses to Jefferson Avenue TIPS Survey over Time (2009-2014)
• Summary Considerations for Anti-Poverty Initiative Safe Neighborhoods Working Group
• Is School Suspension Beneficial (School suspension paper 1 of 3)
• Measuring Recidivism:  Definitions, Errors, and Data Sources
• Correlates with Use of Force by Police
• Review of Select Rochester Violence Prevention Programs

• Rochester Firearm-Related Violence Overview 2004-2014
• Situational Factors of Lethality Literature Review
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Scio Street TIPS Initiative (May 2014)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Chamberlain Street TIPS Initiative (June 2014)
• Teen Empowerment Youth-Police Dialogues Final Evaluation Report
• Messaging and Methods for Behavioral Change Media Campaigns: What Makes Effective Anti-Violence Media?
• RYVP Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program Summary
• Probation Juvenile Justice Reform Final Evaluation (click here for Appendices to this report)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Jay Street TIPS Initiative (August 2014)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jefferson Avenue TIPS Initiative (July 2014)
• Overview of Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs
• Former Dealer Focus Group:  Approaching and Engaging Drug Dealers
• Marijuana Moves:  Opinions on a Policy in Flux (Imagine RIT 2014 survey)
• Five Things to Do and Ten Reasons Why We Fail at Reducing VIolence
• Conkey and Clifford Series (#1):  Residents' View of the Neighborhood
• Conkey & Clifford Series (#2):  Comparing Communities
• Conkey & Clifford Series (#3):  Residents' Feelings and Interpretations of Open Air Marijuana Market 
• "Ban the Box"
• Burglary Series: Motivation and Target Selection
• Burglary Series: Method in The Criminal Act
• Linking Research on Dispute Related Violence with Violence Reduction Strategies
• Analysis of Dispute Related Shootings
• Step by Step Final Report
• Firearm Injuries to Children
• Teen Empowerment Youth-Police Dialogue Interim Report

• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Pulaski Park TIPS Initiative (May 2013)
• Community Concerns and Desires:  Analysis of Jefferson Avenue TIPS Initiative (July 2013)
• Juvenile Justice Reform Evaluation
• Rochester Youth Violence Partnership Report
• Five site evaluation of SNUG: A violence reduction program based on Chicago Ceasefire
• The Power of Perception:  Beliefs About Crime in Rochester, New York
• Preliminary Descriptive Analysis of the Rochester Shooting Database​
• Evaluation of Judicial Process Commission's Women's Re-entry Project
• Calls for Service-Walmart, Gates, New York
• An Exploration of Gun Violence and Prevention: Toward the Development of an Inclusive Database (Paper 1 of 3)
• An Exploration of Gun Violence and Prevention: Toward the Development of an Inclusive Database:  Databases as Prevention (Paper 2 of 3)
• Homicide in Rochester, NY 2012:  Comparison of Rates for a Selection of United States and International Cities

• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Aberdeen Park TIPS Initiative (July 2012)
• The Problem with Mary Jane: Street-Level Marijuana Sales and Quality of Life in Urban Neighborhoods
• Neighbors, Friends and Family: Women Arrested for Burglary in Rochester, NY 2009-2010
• Analysis of 2011 Rochester-City Pawn Shop Transactions: The Year in Review
• Pawn Shop Analyses: Legislation Series: A Model Collateral Loan Broker Code
• An Analysis of Pawn Shops: Legislation Series: Overview of Article 5 of the General Business Law
• Pawn Shop Analyses: Legislation Series: Where does pawn shop legislation exist in New York State?
• The Geography of Crime in Rochester-Patterns over time (2005-2011)
• Data Analysis of Rochester Burglar Arrests, 2009-2010
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Pulaski Park TIPS Initiative (July 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jones Square TIPS Initiative (July 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Conkey and Clifford TIPS Initiative (May 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Frost Avenue TIPS Initiative (May 2012)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jones Square TIPS Initiative (May 2012)
• Media Campaigns & Crime Prevention : A Review of the Literature
• The Social and Legal Effects of Medical Marijuana: State Legislation and Rules

• IMPACT County Agency Website Analysis: Access to Pertinent Pistol Permit Information
• Sustainable Communities and Corrections: The Impact on Local Populations
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Ontario and Scio TIPS Initiative: THE RETURN (May 2011)
• Analysis of 2010 Rochester-City Pawn Shop Transactions
• Representation and Recruitment: A Three-Part Analysis of the Police Hiring Process Within New York State
• Restorative Justice in Schools: An examination of peace circles within Monroe High School
• UPDATED: Community Planning Models To Reduce Violence
• Police Hiring Data Collection & Analysis
• Law Enforcement Related Violence Reduction Strategies
• Calls for Service to Walmart 
• Real Talk, Real Walk—A Model for the Nation: Youth/Police Strategize to Improve RPD’s Relationship with Youth

• Preliminary Findings of the PATHS Curriculum
• Immigration/Migration and Crime in Rochester, NY
• Camp Good Days and Special Times Rochester City School District High School Leadership and Transitional Program: Participant Observation from a Volunteer’s Perspective
• Rochester Safe and Sound: Call-in Focus Group Report
• Violence Issues in Rochester, New York’s Latino Youth
• The Group 14621 Neighborhoods: A Public Safety Assessment and Recommendations
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Ontario and Scio TIPS Initiative (July 2010)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Lyell Avenue TIPS Initiative (May 2010)
• Community Planning Models to Reduce Violence
• Police Department Representation in New York State
• The Police Recruitment Process:Rochester, NY
• The Safer Monroe Area Reentry Team (SMART) Reentry Survey Report

• Recommendations for Addressing the Problem of Illegal Transfer of Guns, including Straw Purchases in Monroe County, New York
• Courage Bowl Analysis
• Domestic Violence in Gay Communities
• Immigration and Crime Rates
• Immigration into the Greater Rochester Area
• The Cost and Consequence of Community Violence: Indirect Effects of Community Violence on Health-related Issues
• Machismo Literature Review
• Summary of Research on Mass Murder
• Motor Vehicle Theft: The Offender, Environment, and Community
• Prisoner Reentry and Rochester’s Neighborhoods
• Re-entry Services Focus Group
• Rochester Motor Vehicle Break-Ins
• Street Corner Market Initiative
• Examining Rochester Community Youth-Police Relationships: Analysis of Teen Empowerment Police and Youth Surveys
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Hudson Avenue TIPS Initiative (November 2009)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Jefferson Avenue TIPS Initiative (April 2009)
• Community Concerns and Desires: Analysis of Dayton Street TIPS Initiative (February 2009)

• The Cost and Consequence of Community Violence: Medical Costs of Non-Fatal Shootings and Other Assaults in Rochester
• Copper Burglary and Copper Prices in Rochester, NY
• Community Concerns and Desires: Driving Park and Dewey (September 2008)
• The Cost and Consequence of Community Violence: New York Health Care Reform Act (HCRA)
• The Cost and Consequence of Community Violence: Trauma Centers Closing
• The Cost and Consequence of Community Violence: Who is affected by the medical costs associated with gun-related injuries and deaths?
• The Cost and Consequence of Community Violence: What are the medical costs associated with gun-related injuries and deaths?
• The Cost and Consequence of Community Violence: How many gun-related injuries and deaths are documented?

• Crime guns taken into custody by the Rochester Police Department: 2004-2006

• Mentoring and Crime: A Review of the Literature

• Rochester SACSI Research: Criminal Records in High Crime Neighborhoods
• Rochester SACSI Research: Analysis of Homicide Victim Toxicology Reports
• Rochester SACSI Research: The Link Between Drugs and Homicide

• Rochester SACSI Research: Theory, Method and Intervention Under SACSI
• Rochester SACSI Research: Intervention Issues: Implications for the Implementation of Exit Interviews in The Monroe County Jail
• Rochester SACSI Research: Estimates of the Size of the Rochester Drug Market and their Implications for Addressing Homicide
• Rochester SACSI Research: Guns, Disputes and Drug Sales: Focus Groups at Monroe Correctional Facility
• Rochester SACSI Research: Genesee Neighborhood Focus Group
• Rochester SACSI Research: Maple Neighborhood Focus Group
• Rochester SACSI Research: Three Kinds of Murder
• Rochester SACSI Research: Clinton Neighborhood Focus Group
• Rochester SACSI Research: Drugs and Homicide 1992-2000
• Rochester SACSI Research: Follow-up to Grand Homicide Review, March 7, 2001