Case Study: How Rochester Is Using Data to Strengthen Community-Led Public Safety
Situation
Communities across Rochester, New York, are taking a new approach to improving public safety – one that puts residents, business owners, and police leadership at the same table with access to the same information.
Through the Rochester Police Department Commons, a public dashboard that provides neighborhood-level policing data, community members can better understand local crime trends, identify priorities, and work collaboratively with law enforcement to address them.
Rather than relying solely on citywide initiatives or anecdotal experiences, Rochester is empowering neighborhoods to use data to drive local solutions.
Problem
For years, residents and business owners shared concerns about issues affecting their neighborhoods, including petty crime, break-ins, public disturbances, and police response times. While these concerns were real, conversations often lacked the localized data needed to identify patterns, prioritize resources, or measure progress.
At the same time:
- Community members had limited access to police data relevant to their neighborhoods.
- Business owners lacked evidence to support requests for increased public safety resources.
- Police-community meetings often focused on individual incidents rather than broader trends.
- Residents rarely had direct access to police decision-makers who could respond to concerns and commit to action.
Without a shared understanding of the data, collaboration was difficult and progress was hard to measure.
Solution
Measures for Justice partnered with the Rochester Police Department to launch Rochester Police Department Commons, giving the public free access to neighborhood-level policing data through an easy-to-use online dashboard.
Commons allows residents and community organizations to:
- View crime and policing data at the census tract level.
- Identify trends affecting their own neighborhoods.
- Bring data into community meetings to inform discussions.
- Track police response times and other key performance measures.
- Engage directly with police leadership using a shared understanding of local conditions.
The dashboard has become a focal point for community conversations.
At meetings hosted by organizations such as the Beachwood Neighborhood Coalition, residents used Commons to explore neighborhood crime trends while police command staff answered questions, discussed concerns, and committed to operational changes such as adjusting patrol coverage during periods of increased activity.
Downtown business owners have also begun using Commons to better understand trends affecting commercial districts, helping them make more targeted requests for public safety resources that support economic activity and community well-being.
