ROCHESTER, N.Y. — To protect and serve is a mission fewer people are taking on.

“It takes a lot of courage, a lot of determination [...] to go out in the community and to lead every day,” said Sgt. Justin Collins, the director of recruitment and workforce development for Rochester Police.

In Buffalo alone, closer to 2,000 people used to take the qualifying civil service exam, according to city representatives. The last batch of applicants was around 1,100.

Multiple factors played into that, including the COVID-19 pandemic and social movements like Black Lives Matter, Collins claimed.

“How we got here is how we got here, but our goal is to build back stronger,” he said.

That starts with finding the right candidate. For more than 30 years, Rochester recruited in nearby cities like Buffalo and Syracuse. They did the same.

“A lot of people from Buffalo are familiar with Rochester. A lot of people from Syracuse are familiar with Rochester, and vice versa," Collins explained. "I think that familiarity piece of saying ‘yeah, I know where Rochester is,’ that is going to make the sale of getting someone to sign up a lot easier.”

But this time, RPD is picking it up a notch.

“How do we go out there and be aggressive to go after these candidates?" wondered Collins, adding that the push has included billboard, social media and television advertising.

Massive ads, in both Buffalo and Rochester, point out wages that hit $102,000 in under four years.

“[We're] one of the highest, if not the highest, when you talk about the metropolitan areas in upstate New York,” Collins touted.

It’s more than a $20,000 increase over what that same officer could make in Buffalo, at just under $79,000 in four years.

“The benefits and pay have never been better, and the department is really at an innovation stage,” Collin added.

There’s no bad blood between these departments, though. Buffalo’s police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia wishes them luck, adding, "We are experiencing the same or similar trends, that recruiting has been tough. We’re all looking for numbers. We’re all looking for qualified individuals to take our tests.”

Collins is a Buffalonian himself, one of many already on the force in Rochester.

“I could probably name 50 people that work here in our 700-person department that are from Buffalo,” he said.

They only require officers to live in Monroe County or a county bordering Monroe.

“Policing is the type of thing where even if you came for X, Y, Z reasons, you will soon get caught up in service above self because it absolutely is what it's about,” Collins added.

He's hopeful that the flexibility and benefits keep their numbers growing.

“I do believe there's enough candidates to go around,” he said.

RPD has also shifted how it communicates with applicants. For the past two years, it’s been more of a constant contact in the weeks leading up to qualifying exams, to try and prepare and build community.

The deadline to sign up for the exam is Feb. 9.