Town of Sweden Supervisor Kevin Johnson participated in a November 1 roundtable discussion regarding the increase in violent crime and the changes in state laws that have reduced the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts and left many Monroe County residents feeling less safe. The meeting was hosted by Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter and attended by law enforcement officers, pastors, local government representatives, crime victims, medical professionals, business and civic leaders.
The group’s focus was on pursuing strategic legislation for dangerous and repeat offender standards. Recent NYS laws have essentially eliminated judges’ ability to hold detainees who have demonstrated dangerousness or who are repeat offenders. Statistics from the Rochester Police Department show that homicides have increased over 200% from the 2017-2019 time span (88) to the 2020-2022 time span (200). Additionally, shooting victims have more than doubled from 2017-2019 (504) to 2020-2022 (1,055).
Johnson co-authored a letter from the Monroe County Supervisors’ Association to Governor Hochul stating that “A downturn in the quality of life in the city of Rochester has a negative impact on the Towns of Monroe County, but we are also seeing our own problems in addition to those in the city. Our people and businesses are being victimized by this crime, and in many places in our County there is a general sense of loss of safety, security and quality of life.”
Other groups sent similar letters to state officials over recent months and the November 1 meeting was an effort to bring many of those groups together to collectively pressure Albany lawmakers to address the problems.
“Giving judges the discretion to hold dangerous or repeat offenders is a common sense proposal supported by all of the participants,” Johnson said of the meeting. In the Town of Sweden, Johnson has heard from residents, business owners and sheriff’s deputies about increases in property crimes. “Today’s after-hours break-in at a local store or the theft of catalytic converters from cars in hotel parking lots can turn into something much more tragic tomorrow.”
The group’s next steps include a letter to state representatives defining recommended legislative changes.
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