And there may also be a message undergirding the talks: Both residents and the police have a stake in improved relations, and both can do their part. He plans a series of meetings across the city, and will also seek input through other avenues.Īt those hearings, Harris and police may get an earful. Wayne Harris, who has been appointed to a newly created position, deputy chief of community relations, will be the city's liaison with the community. Study says complaints 'vanish' when police wear body camerasĪfter a recent citizen-recorded video of the arrest of a city woman went viral locally - activists claimed police used excessive force in the arrest, while police said it was by the book - Mayor Lovely Warren ordered the Police Department to craft an "action plan" designed to foster better relations with residents. This follows a trend across the nation, with many cities using similar technology - though policies vary greatly on the public availability of the videos. In an attempt at more transparency, some city police are now equipped with body cameras, and the department plans to have 500 cameras on the streets over the next six months. The restructuring seems to have paid dividends in some neighborhoods, but the relations between the community and the cops - especially in lower-income and largely minority neighborhoods - are still often strained. Eighteen months have passed since a significant reorganization of the Rochester police model, changing from two sections to five in a reversal of a model that had been in place since 2004.
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