Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday that gun violence in the state has reached its lowest level since 2006, when the state began tracking this data.
In communities participating in the state’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative, the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) reported a 15 percent decline in shooting victims and a 9 percent decline in shootings resulting in injury from January 1 to April 30 compared to the same period last year, the governor’s office said in a press release.
Why It Matters
The data comes from 28 police departments outside of New York City participating in the GIVE initiative. These police departments report around 90 percent of violent crimes involving firearms outside New York City.
The initiative aims at reducing shootings and other firearm-related crimes by providing state funding to local law enforcement agencies for equipment, overtime and personnel. It also provides training and technical assistance to those agencies.
What To Know
The police departments involved in the GIVE initiative include Albany Police Department, Binghamton Police Department, Auburn Police Department, Jamestown Police Department, Elmira Police Department, Poughkeepsie Police Department, Amherst Police Department and Buffalo Police Department…