Rochester 9-11 Call Center buzzing since crime crackdown

Rochester 9-11 dispatchers have been extra busy since the city’s crackdown on crime kicked off last week.
 
“They're clearing areas, they’re making people move along, they're out there in numbers, they're doing their job,” says dispatcher Tom Mills.

Mills says many of the calls are from residents asking about the high number of police on their streets. “RPD has saturated the city with so many cars that the corners that used to have people hanging out loitering selling drugs, the officers are pulling up in force, three to four cars, 12 officers may get out,” said Mills.
 
Rochester Emergency Communications Director John Merklinger says the biggest increase has been in police calls not 9-11 emergency calls. “The radio traffic though has increased significantly. The officers are actually doing more stops and that’s increased anywhere between 500 and a 1,000 pieces of activity on any given day,” said Merklinger.
 
Despite the flood of calls that keep dispatchers busy, Mills says it's up to everyone to do their part to help fight crime. “For us it's business as usual, this is what we do, this is what we get paid to do. We’re just of part if the team,” Mills added.