Currently CGR is engaged in studying public safety options in both the Central and Finger Lakes regions of New York:  

• For a study in Oneida County, CGR is examining the provision of police services within 5 communities – the Town of Whitestown and the Villages of Yorkville, New York Mills, Whitesboro and Oriskany – in order to suggest possible alternatives.
• For Yates County, CGR is examining the potential impacts and extent of efficiencies created by a possible consolidation of the Village of Penn Yan police department with the county Sheriff operation, or alternative options to create efficiencies short of consolidation. A state Shared Municipal Services Incentive (SMSI) grant is funding the study.

An excellent example of how CGR’s approach to law enforcement studies has been applied to actual practice is the Rochester NY Police Department (RPD) 550-person patrol division reorganization that was put into effect several years ago.  The basis for the reorganization was a major report by CGR that involved:

• Interviews with department staff, union officials and community members
• Analysis of the 390,000+/year calls for service (CFS) 911 records
• Comparison of actual CFS patterns with patrol division staffing
• Use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to evaluate patterns and call volumes
• Analysis of additional police records (e.g., attendance, fleet, building) to identify service expectations and resource constraints
• Development of approaches to better match patrol officers to demand in order to create a better mix of reactive and proactive patrol time
• Design of potential management staffing models for command staff and facilities (3 different options)

The actual reorganization, which involved a police internal planning process, resulted in RPD keeping the same number of uniformed staff, while improving service and reducing costs. A 2005 evaluation of the first 6 months after reorganization showed that, by moving to the 2-section model (from the previous 7 sections) and shifting the tours of duty of some officers, the RPD was able to reduce response time to calls for service by over 10%, even out the span of control for command staff and reduce overtime costs by more than $900,000.