‘We work hand in hand:’ Safety measures in place ahead of Rochester Pride Saturday

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Saturday, Highland Park will house Rochester’s Pride Festival. Folks will make their way there with a parade starting at 11 a.m. Saturday on South Avenue.

Ahead of the festival, Rochester Police say they plan to keep the community safe so everyone can enjoy the event.

Captain Greg Bello says securing Pride Fest is similar to securing other festivals in Rochester. And with Trillium Health, the host of this year’s festival, anticipating a big turnout, police say they are prepared.

“We work hand in hand with everyone to make sure everybody is having fun at these festivals, and part of having fun, is having safe,” Captain Bello said.

Rochester Police officers will be out in full force to ensure those attending both the Pride Festival as well as the parade are safe.

“We put together a pretty significant operations plan, and it goes through assigning different posts where we need people, tracking our intel, our communications, and tracking any potential problems,” Captain Bello said.

With the Pride Festival taking place in Rochester for many years now, Captain bello explains they take that operations plan, and each year, think of ways to make it better.

“We’re going to continue to build upon that and make it even safer than it’s been before,” Captain Bello said.

Promoters anticipate some of the highest attendance numbers this weekend. With those anticipations, that means more officers will be present.

“The biggest thing is that we are going to have officers there, officers are going to be out, they are going to be readily visible, so the biggest thing is if you see something that draws your attention, something that you don’t think looks right, obviously notify a police officer that is nearby, call 911,” Captain Bello said.

Captain Bello emphasizing how the community can play a role in keeping everyone safe.

“We’re not everywhere in every place to see what’s going on, we do rely upon partnerships, and that includes our community to alert us when things are going on and our officers are right there so should you have any issues, don’t hesitate to flag down an officer,” Captain Bello said.

And Rochester Police will also be present to help direct traffic for those attending Saturday’s festivities. Captain Bello says as they do so: watch where you walk and follow their rules and guidance.

News 8 has a guide to this year’s Rochester Pride Parade and Festival here .

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