Rochester coalition signs MOU, unveils new violence‑prevention programs as police report gun seizures

Council member Willie Lightfoot, founder and chairman of the Rock Against Gun Violence Coalition, said the coalition has a signed memorandum of understanding with the mayor’s office to continue the coalition’s work and that the mayor will sign the agreement soon.

The agreement “is on the mayor’s desk to be signed,” Lightfoot said, announcing the written commitment as the group outlined new violence‑prevention programs, training opportunities and a planned community screening of an Oscar‑nominated short film.

The memorandum of understanding formalizes the coalition’s relationship with city government and, Lightfoot said, allows him to continue the work on a separate platform after his transition from council. He said the coalition and city staff are also working on a second gun‑trace data report due to be drafted by Brady and the Rochester Police Department and targeted for completion by December.

Why it matters: the MOU and the city‑led gun‑trace report are intended to sustain the coalition’s programs and to provide publicly accessible data intended to inform prevention and enforcement strategies. Coalition leaders also described program launches meant to expand outreach, training and real‑time community‑police communication.

Office of Violence Prevention updates Zeke, a staff member with the City of Rochester Office of Violence Prevention, said the office is launching several programmatic initiatives this fall. He said the city’s Advanced Peace peacemaker fellowship is entering its fourth cohort and that the program has about 30 fellows — the largest cohort yet.

“We have our fourth cohort. We…