Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards and Police Chief James Sheppard will hold a series of "Voice of the Citizen" programs, where people in the community can play an active role in coming up with ideas and solutions to reduce crime.

One forum will be held in each quadrant of the city, starting with the Southwest quadrant on Tuesday, and will discuss four major topics: Open-air drug sales and gate houses; gangs, guns and the culture of violence; bullying and truancy; and house parties.

"They are slightly down, we still have to go another 20 days before we get to the end of the month, and the fact of the matter is any little bit of violence, it's still a little bit too much. So we never feel our work is done, we need as much help as we can get,” Sheppard said.

The Northeast quadrant meeting is January 15th at the Carter Street Community Center. The Northwest is January 29th at the Edgerton Stardust Ballroom on Backus Street. The Southeast meeting is February 5th at the Lake Riley Lodge at Cobbs Hill Park.