Crisis Intervention Services

The Office of Crisis Intervention Services is a unit of the City's Department of Recreation and Human Services. The goal of the office is to create a comprehensive, community-based response to support victims and families dealing with homicides, mental health, domestic violence, and other related crises.

Individuals experiencing crisis should call 211 to dispatch the Person In Crisis team.

The Person In Crisis (PIC) Team will respond to mental health and substance abuse crises. A coordinated response to crisis calls is essential to making sure that these calls for help are handled appropriately and that those in crises are given the type of care they need. By mobilizing highly trained emergency response social workers, and through a partnership with the Goodwill of the Finger Lakes 211 Lifeline Call-center, we can employ more effective ways of connecting people to the services they need. Through this strategic partnership, we can ensure a 24/7 call response to all City of Rochester zip codes, with the ultimate goal of diverting crisis calls to other selective dispatch first responders.

The goals of the PIC Team are to:

• Increase connection to community crisis services that meet the need, by de-escalating crisis calls;
• Divert crisis call coming in to 911 to the most appropriate response option, activating law only when needed; and
• Strengthen supports post crisis to address full range of needs to stabilize and prevent future crises. 

The Person in Crisis Team pilot launched on January 21, 2021 with responding to a few mental health related call types that would be responded to in lieu of law enforcement. Effective March 14, 2021 the PIC Team added a co-dispatch response to all mental health related calls where the team is simultaneously dispatched with all other resources (RPD, EMS, Fire). The dashboard represents the call volumes for the current response types. As additional response types are added, the dashboard will be updated.

Person In Crisis Team Responses

Call 9-1-1 immediately if you are threatened in any way. You have a right to be protected against intimidation and harm.

Important Numbers: 

Victims of crime, survivors of a homicide victim or children who have witnessed a crime may be entitled to compensation benefits through the NYS Crime Victims Board and may include:

• Uncovered medical expenses
• Lost wages 
• Funeral expenses 
• Essential personal property 
• Counseling services
• Transportation costs to court 
• Loss of support benefits 
• Rehabilitation services

 If you are the victim of a family (domestic) offense, you have the right to:

• Bring charges both in Criminal and Family Courts
• Request an Order of Protection (OOP), which may require that the offender stop threatening or harming you, or staying away from you entirely 
• An OOP can be issued in both Criminal Court and Family Court 
• A Criminal Court may issue an OOP to any victim and/or witness listed on the crime report once an arrest is made and the offender is arraigned before a Criminal Court judge. 
• You may be eligible in Family Court if you currently are married or ever have been married to the offender, blood relatives, have a child in common, or are current or former intimate partners.

There are two types of Orders of Protection (OOP): 

• No Contact OOP: The offender is not to have any contact with the victim.
• No Offensive Contact OOP: The offender can have contact with the victim but cannot physically harm, or threaten to harm, the victim.  

Warrants:

To file for a warrant for a person’s arrest, bring your copy of the Crime Report to Room 270 (second floor) of the City Public Safety Building where you can see a police paralegal. Call (585) 428-6571 for general inquiries.

District Attorney:

The District Attorney's Office (DA's) is the prosecuting attorney who represents the interests of the State and victim concerns throughout the criminal case.
Pre-Trial Release: A defendant is interviewed before and after arraignment to determine eligibility of non-financial release and to assess the defendants likelihood to return to court.

Types of Offenses: 

Violations are the least serious of offenses; Felonies and Misdemeanors are the most serious crimes punishable according to the New York State Penal Law. 

Other Resources:

Monroe County Sheriff Inmate Information

New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Inmate Lookup

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are committed to protecting the public and ensuring that the rights of victims are carefully observed. HSI administers a Victim Notification Program, which allows eligible victims and witnesses to obtain reliable and timely information regarding a criminal aliens release from custody. Visit the ICE Website to register and for more information.