ROCHESTER, N.Y. —The sounds of trumpets and saxophones are set to take over downtown Rochester in less than two weeks as hundreds of people will hit the streets during the Rochester International Jazz Festival.

But before people get lost in the music, the Rochester Police Department’s special events unit is planning ahead to keep everyone safe.

“We use officers not working their regular assignments that come down and work special events,” explained RPD Lt. Greg Bello. "Other examples of this are festivals across the city, Amerks games [and] events at the stadium.”

This will be the first full Jazz Fest since the COVID-19 pandemic bgean and the first large event Rochester police will be working downtown.

“Especially after COVID, when a lot of these things were shut down, and now we’re getting back into the swing of things,” Bello said. "We’re working with festival organizers to ensure it goes off as safe as it can.”

Big events are nothing new for the RPD, but Jazz Fest presents a unique challenge with multiple venues. That’s why planning security starts a year in advance.

“Like any festival detail we run, we always evaluate and debrief afterwards,” Bello said. “In terms of this year, we’ll look at previous years plans and see what did we do well and what we could’ve we done better.”

While Rochester police say they can’t release exact numbers or security plans, they say there will be more than enough officers around for Jazz Fest. They add that any community member should feel safe attending the event.