Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that the state is turning the tide in the fight against gun violence.
The governor pointed to a two-year drop in incidents of gun violence, including a 37% reduction in shooting incidents in the state through the first four months of 2024, compared to a five-year average. Hochul also said that the New York State Police have seized illegal firearms at a record pace so far this year.
Statistics compiled by the state Department of Criminal Justice Services showed that shooting incidents with injury and the number of shooting victims have each decreased by more than 35% through April, compared to the January to April average over the last five years, in the major metropolitan areas outside of New York City.
There were 84 fewer shootings (143 vs. 227), 94 fewer victims (170 vs. 264), and 13 fewer lives lost to gun violence (29 vs. 42) according to figures compiled by local law enforcement agencies participating in state’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative. The Niagara Falls Police Department and Niagara County Sheriff’s Office are both involved in the GIVE program.
The NFPD has participated in the GIVE initiative for a decade and received $2.1 million in funding for 2023-24. That funding is part of what Hochul has described as a “$347 million investment in comprehensive efforts to reduce and prevent gun violence.”
Hochul hailed the significant drop in gun violence statistics.
“We enacted the toughest gun safety measures in the country and now we are seeing results: historic lows in gun violence across New York,” Hochul said. “Public safety is my number one priority, and I will continue fighting to create meaningful results and keep New Yorkers safe.”
The governor also credited the creation of an Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns, which has led to the seizure of more than 3,302 illegal guns by New York State Police troopers since the start of 2022. That number is more than the total number of guns seized by the state police from 2017 to 2021.
The state’s 2025 budget will include more than $36 million in the GIVE initiative. The program which aims to help law enforcement agencies adopt evidence-based crime reduction strategies will also be expanded to a total of 21 counties and 28 police departments state-wide.
The budget will also include an additional $35 million for law enforcement interventions designed to reduce domestic violence and $18 million for the state-supported network of 11 Crime Analysis Centers (CACs), providing dedicated intelligence and investigative assistance to more than 350 law enforcement agencies.
The Falls Police Department is the home of the recently expanded Niagara County Crime Analysis Center.