Rochester, New York’s third largest city, has declared a state of emergency due to a drastic increase in the number of homicides and other violent crimes, making 2021 one of the deadliest years in recorded history. A joint statement from Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren and City Council Vice President Willie J. Lightfoot on Nov. 12 said in part: “Today, Mayor Warren is declaring a local state of emergency to ensure additional resources are brought to bear with one clear goal: removing violent offenders from our neighborhoods. These individuals have already committed crimes, are wanted for additional crimes and are most likely to be perpetrating the violence we’re seeing today. This action ensures we are doing all we can to remove these violent criminals from our streets.” There have been 247 local violent offenders arrested from the beginning of the year, out of which 134 arrests were for firearms-related offenses. …