Scott Forster, Jamestown deputy police chief, is pictured in the foreground as members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee - Joe Paterniti, R-Ward 4, Jeff Russell, R-At Large and committee chairman, and Bill Reynolds, R-Ward 5 - look on during a discussion of whether or not the city is a dangerous place. Reynolds disagreed with comments made by members of the Kendall Club Police Benevolent Association executive board in a recent guest essay in The Post-Journal. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

Is Jamestown a dangerous city?

The Jamestown Kendall Club PBA, the union representing the city’s police officers, and some City Council members appear to have a difference in opinions on the answer to that question.

Some recent local commentary and Facebook posts from the Kendall Club were discussed during both Monday’s Public Safety Committee and the council’s full work session, after it was brought up by a constituent.

During the Public Safety Committee meeting, Deputy Police Chief Scott Forster, said the statements made by the Kendall Club executive committee during a recent guest essay in The Post-Journal were based on numbers, which cannot be argued with.

Councilman Bill Reynolds, R-At Large and himself a former Jamestown Police Department detective, disagreed with the union members’ assessment.

“I dismiss the fact that Jamestown is a dangerous city,” Reynolds said. “Every city’s got bad folks in it and people in it and there’s always a chance for any of us to be a victim of any crime. But, a wholesale label that it’s a dangerous city, my glass is always half full for Jamestown.”

Union members said their guest essay that seven of the eight homicides in Chautauqua County took place in Jamestown in 2024 while pointing to Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) reports issued by New York state – and previously reported on by The Post-Journal over the past year – showing that Jamestown, a Tier 2 city, experienced the largest increase in shootings going from four victims in 2023 to 10 in 2024. Gun deaths increased from one in 2023 to four in 2024. Both are the largest increases among the Tier 2 group which also includes the town of Amherst, Auburn, Binghamton, Cheektowaga, Elmira, the town of Greece, Ithaca, Jamestown, Kingston, Lackawanna, Middletown, Spring Valley, and Watertown.

Only Binghamton, which according to the 2023 census has an estimated population of 46,727, had more shooting victims – 11 – than Jamestown which has an estimated population of 27,965 also according to the 2023 census.

Reynolds said in Police Chief Timothy Jackson’s annual report it was shown that non-violent crime has decreased in the city, and that the report was skewed because of the amount of murders there were in a year. Four or five were included in this report, while Reynolds said there would only be one or two around 20 years ago.

Reynolds added that he hoped the nuisance and quality of life issues were also being reduced in the city, and that it is something the city is working on. Reynolds also noted that the city’s police force has a lot of “young guys” doing what has become a more dangerous job, saying that “they are a professional group that does a fine job.”

During the work session, Councilman Jeff Russell, R-At Large and chair of the Public Safety Committee, also addressed the comments. Reynolds spoke again on his opinion on the matter, saying that he felt strongly that Jamestown is a safe city.

“We need to beef up and support our police departments, fire departments, EMS folks that provide the services they do,” Reynolds said. “It’s second to none, and if we allow the negative connotation that we’re living in the bowery of New York City and you can’t cross the street without fear, then we’ve got a bigger problem than crime.”

Reynolds said this was more of a philosophical issue, and that it was important to be positive about what the city leaders are doing in the city and why they are doing it. Russell added that some of the crimes listed were specific targeted events, not just random acts against any citizen of Jamestown.

“I’m very disappointed that it comes across as being a dangerous city compared to Chicago, Detroit, New York, LA, Buffalo, you know, it’s language and I don’t care for it,” Reynolds said.