NEW YORK — New York Governor Kathy Hochul held a press conference Tuesday to discuss the state's progress in the fight against gun violence.
The governor says there has been significant progress in the 'Gun Involved Violence Elimination' program (GIVE).
Twenty police departments participate in the program, including some in Erie and Chautauqua counties.
The participating agencies reported 50 shooting incidents with injury in January 2023. That's the fewest since March 2020.
"We are taking major steps in the right direction, but these numbers are still too high," Hochul said in a press conference on gun violence. "Each and every incident is tragic, and each shooting represents an unquantifiable amount of pain and harm to victims and their communities. We must continue treating gun violence as the public health crisis that it is, by identifying the source, interrupting its transmission, and treating it."
According to the Governor's office, they say 2022 CDC data shows New York had the lowest firearm homicide rate of the 10 largest states in the country in 2021.
Data shows participating agencies and New York City experienced double-digit decreases in shooting incidents with injury in 2022 when compared to 2021.
In 2022, law enforcement seized more than 10,000 guns across the state, an 11 percent increase from 2021, according to the Governor's office.
The governor also highlighted the state's Red Flag law, which removes guns from those who pose a risk to themselves or others. Since February 2022, the courts issued a total of 6,209 extreme risk protection orders.
The governor's budget proposal funds a public safety plan to decrease gun violence and violent crime. Among the proposals:
- Expanding the state's Crime Analysis Center Network to New York City, bringing to 11 the number of centers in the network that is supported by the state in partnership with local law enforcement agencies.
- Doubling funding for the GIVE initiative to $36 million. GIVE supports 20 police departments in 17 counties that account for more than 80 percent of the violent crime that occurs in New York State outside of New York City: Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Dutchess, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Rensselaer, Rockland, Schenectady, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester. District attorneys' offices, probation departments, sheriffs' offices, and other partners in those counties also receive funding through the initiative.
- Bolstering State Police support by increasing Community Stabilization Units from 16 to 25 communities, funding an unprecedented four academy classes and expanding presence on federal task forces.