Rev. Benjamin Cox wants to see change happen in his community.

Cox runs the Faith Leadership Roundtable, where members from different churches share what’s happening in their communities.

"We're the ones that have to bury our children; our community,” he said.

It’s hearing those stories of crime and violence that led Cox to work with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on the Consortium for Safe Communities.

The goal of the consortium is to improve public safety. It’s made up of community members to business owners to faith leaders like Cox.

"We decided to see if we could reach out to other stakeholders in the community that are engaged in this conversation, see what their opinions are [and] what their thoughts are," said Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter.

Together they created four initiatives that they feel are steps to improve public safety. They include introducing a repeat offender standard and opposing elder parole legislation.

"The real power in New York state is not in Monroe County, we realize the power is in Albany," said Baxter. "We’re trying to get our representatives to say work with us and we’ll work with you and support you.”

Nearly 2,000 people signed a letter asking leaders in Albany to make the changes that they feel will cut down on crime.

In 2023, there were more than 50 homicides and about 270 people shot. It’s something Dr. Mark Gestring, a trauma surgeon, says affects him and his team every day. 

"The misery that's brought to the patients who are involved, their families, the communities, the neighborhoods [and] the stress it puts on the health care system," said Gestring. "There's no good that comes from this.”

Cox says the crime isn’t just a Rochester problem; it’s affecting other cities across the state. That’s why he’s pushing for the consortium to expand.

Cox and other consortium members met with leaders in Buffalo to see about reducing crime between the two cities. There's also talks to expand into Syracuse.

The initiatives were presented to state lawmakers on Jan. 4.