Gun violence drops dramatically in Falls and statewide

Oct. 30—Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced that new data, recently released by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, shows reported gun violence across the state has now plunged to the lowest level since law enforcement began tracking those statistics in 2006.

And both the governor and Niagara Region law enforcement agencies are crediting the state's Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative for the dramatic decline.

Shooting incidents, with reported injuries, declined 26% statewide through September 2024 compared to the same nine-month period last year, as reported by the 28 police departments outside of New York City that participate in the GIVE program. Among the areas with the largest drops in gun violence were Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse, Troy, Utica and Long Island.

In the Falls, shooting incidents involving injuries dropped by 40%, while the number of people injured in those shootings decreased by 25%. Gun-involved homicides fell 86%, though a drop in the city's overall homicide numbers contributed to that significant decline.

The five-year average of shooting incidents involving injuries in the Falls is down 57%, while the average number of people injured in those shootings has decreased by 45%.

Mayor Robert Restaino called the reductions "substantial and sustained." Hochul said, "Public safety is my number one priority, and New York is leading the nation with proven initiatives that are making communities safer."

GIVE is a state-funded program that aims to reduce shootings and firearm-related violence in New York communities outside of New York City. Wrapping up its tenth year of operation, GIVE provides funding to local law enforcement agencies for equipment, overtime, and personnel, and provides training and technical assistance to local law enforcement agencies.

The initiative currently supports 20 police departments, district attorney's offices, probation departments and sheriff's offices in 17 New York counties, including Niagara. The GIVE communities, historically, account for 80% of the violent crime that occurs outside of New York City.

In its current funding cycle, the Falls Police Department was awarded more than $2.188 million in GIVE funding. The city shared $328,826 of that funding with the Niagara County District Attorney's Office, $266,250 with the Niagara County Sheriff's Office and $351,253 with the Niagara County Probation Department.

The program is data-driven and focuses on so-called "Hot Spot" policing, focused deterrence and community engagement, including "street outreach" by officers.

"We're out on the streets almost daily," said GIVE grant coordinator and former Falls Police Superintendent John Faso.

Current Falls Police Superintendent Nicholas Ligammari said he believes a new emphasis on community engagement has helped lead to the most recent drops in gun violence.

"It was all enforcement before," Ligammari said. "I think the engagement component has made a big difference and we have buy-in from the whole department."

Faso said that GIVE is now showing the community "demonstrable results."

"GIVE has evolved," he said, "and our officers have embraced it and gone out and done it."

Statewide, DCJS reported that, compared to 2023, 170 fewer individuals were injured by gun violence in GIVE communities in 2024. In the Falls, there were 17 assaults with firearms in 2023, compared to 10 for the same period in 2024.

Victims who suffered injuries from shootings fell from 20 in 2023 to 16 in 2024. Gun deaths went from 7 in 2023 to 1 in 2024.

Hochul said in the last two years, funding for local law enforcement agencies, including district attorney's offices had increased by 1,200%, from $30 million to $392 million.

"Our record investments in law enforcement and in critical programs like the GIVE initiative are making a real difference in every corner of our state," the governor said.