Update 5:20 p.m.: Locust Club President Mike Mazzeo has taken issue with the planned Sibley substation. The Locust Club is the union that represents Rochester police officers. In a press release, Mazzeo says that while he is "encouraged by this movement toward a change in the patrol division structure," that the city's plan is to, in essence, "have a downtown section without really having a downtown section."

Mazzeo also seems to be accusing the city of not including the union in the process.

[UPDATED 11:15 a.m.] The city is moving ahead with plans to start a downtown police detail.

Mayor Tom Richards and Police Chief James Sheppard announced this morning that a new police substation will eventually open on the first floor of the Sibley Building. But a beefed-up downtown police presence will be felt much sooner, they said. Over the next few weeks the police department will deploy 30 officers and supervisors, with an emphasis on foot and bike patrols. The main focus will be quality-of-life issues like loitering and panhandling, say city officials.

The Sibley Building was chosen, Richards said, because it is centrally located. He said he wants to send the message that "the city is in charge of downtown, not somebody running around causing trouble."

The city will not hire any more officers, but there will be a "strategic realignment" of officers in the RPD's west division, Sheppard said. The changes will cost the city more money, Richards said, but he wouldn't put a figure on it.

"It'll be my job to figure out how we do that," he said, explaining that the new substation is a "top priority" for the city.

The police department's east-west structure will remain intact.

Original story: Mayor Tom Richards and Police Chief James Sheppard will announce an enhanced policing plan for downtown at 11 a.m. today.

Richards said a few weeks ago that he intended to put a police substation in the Sibley building as soon as possible. The area around Sibley is the city's main bus transfer spot and the massing of people sometimes leads to problems.

MCC officials have also voiced concerns about the safety of their students. Female students in particular, they said, didn't always feel safe around Sibley.