Tribute to Officer Fanning
The founder of Rochester PAL

After being assigned to the downtown area beat, Officer Fred Fanning saw a need to hold youths responsible for their actions.  He organized a work service crew comprised of youthful offenders who had been responsible for the litter and graffiti in the Peace Plaza area downtown.  Out of this, he saw a need to have a positive interaction between the police and the youth of Rochester.

In 1999 Fred initiated the Rochester Police Athletic/Activities League (PAL), which promotes positive relationships between police officers and youth through community based educational and recreational activities.  These are the same ideals that Fred saw as a need for with the youth he worked with.

From the initial meeting throughout his career, Fred took great pride in seeing the positive results of a close interaction between at risk youths and the police officers of Rochester.