Shootings In Yonkers Have Dropped By Over 50 Percent This Year: Hochul

YONKERS, NY — There are concrete signs that aggressive steps to reduce gun violence are having an effect in New York's hardest hit communities, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday.

The governor cited new data showing significant declines in gun violence in Yonkers, Long Island, Rochester and Syracuse.

Hochul announced that shooting incidents with injury declined 29 percent through July 2024 compared to the same seven-month period last year, as reported by police departments participating in New York State’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative. The state's chief executive said the overall decline is the result of significant, sustained reductions in gun violence across communities served by the 28 police departments participating in GIVE.

"Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority," Hochul said announcing the promising new data. "Our comprehensive efforts to bring down gun violence are working — and I’ll never stop fighting to ensure safe communities all across our state."

The 29 percent decline statewide reflects 351 shooting incidents with injury from January 1 through July 31, 2024, compared to 497 incidents from January 1 through July 31, 2023.

New York State’s GIVE initiative supports 28 police departments in 21 counties with the majority of the state’s population (outside New York City).

According to the governor, five departments reported particularly significant declines in shootings through July 2024 compared to the same seven-month period last year.

• Yonkers: 57 percent decline
• Nassau County: 56 percent decline
• Suffolk County: 50 percent decline
• Rochester: 35 percent decline
• Syracuse: 32 percent decline

There was also a 21 percent decline in the number of people killed by gun violence in GIVE communities during that same time period, according to state officials. (70 from Jan. 1 through July 31, 2024, compared to 89 from Jan. 1 through July 31, 2023).

The governor pointed to investments in nationally recognized initiatives administered by DCJS, which provides funding, training and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations in communities hardest hit by gun violence and violent crime as a contributing factor in the steep drop in gun violence.

Nearly $36 million was set aside for the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative.

Through GIVE, DCJS helps police departments implement evidence-based strategies that have proven to be successful at reducing gun violence. Hochul said these include Problem-Oriented Policing, Hot-Spots Policing, Focused Deterrence/Group Violence Intervention, Street Outreach, and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. These strategies focus on the few people and places that are responsible for most of the violence and engage the broader community to build trust. GIVE also funds district attorneys’ offices, probation departments, and sheriffs’ offices in those counties.

$21 million was earmarked for the SNUG Street Outreach program, which uses a public health approach to address gun violence by identifying the source, interrupting transmission, and treating those affected by violence.

Community-based organizations and hospitals operate the program in 14 communities and employ nearly 200 outreach workers, social workers and case managers. The outreach workers have lost loved ones to violence or have prior justice system involvement. They respond to shootings to prevent retaliation, detect conflicts and resolve them peacefully before they lead to additional violence. Social workers and case managers work with those affected by community violence, including friends and family. DCJS also supports New York City’s violence interruption efforts, providing $5 million for its Crisis Management System (CMS) so it can bring those programs to scale.

$18 million was used to help fund the state’s network of Crime Analysis Centers, which analyze, compile and distribute information, intelligence and data to local law enforcement agencies statewide.

More than $20 million has been invested in Project RISE, a funding model that convenes community stakeholders to respond to gun violence. In its first year, the initiative supported 99 organizations, including 74 small, grassroots programs, many of which had never received state support for their work. Programs and services funded by RISE include academic support, employment services, mentoring and delinquency/violence prevention.

July 2024 data for each of the 28 police departments participating in the GIVE initiative are available on the state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) website. In addition to the decreases in gun violence experienced in GIVE communities, the New York City Police Department reported an 11 percent decline in shootings (530 versus 595) in New York City through July 2024 compared to the same time last year.