Governor Hochul: “State Police illegal gun seizures are at record highs, up 160 percent since I took office in the summer of 2021. And we're keeping guns away from people who pose a danger to themselves and others. We've strengthened the red flag laws, the extreme risk orders of protection… it’s gone up 1,300 percent. And today I'm announcing the latest data from 2023 shows that 1,385 red flags – again, this is to alert people that there are people who could do harm to themselves or others – all in 2023 for a total of 2,500 guns.”
Hochul: “We boosted coordination between our troopers and other agencies, indeed other states. We employed hot spot policing, sending police into the most impacted areas instead of just everywhere, just going where it's most needed. We fought for record funding for the Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative, which supports law enforcement statewide, and all of that worked.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced significant progress in the fight against crime in New York’s Capital Region and across the state. During a visit to New York State Police Troop G Headquarters, Governor Hochul highlighted an overall decline in crime in the Capital Region and announced gun seizures are up by 160 percent across the state since the Governor took office. The Governor also detailed reductions in gun violence in Albany, Schenectady and Troy, which participate in the state’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative. Following Governor Hochul’s nation leading efforts to strengthen Red Flag laws, State Police filed 1,385 Extreme Risk Orders of Protections, or “red flags,” to seize a total of 2,549 guns in 2023. Additionally, Governor Hochul announced car thefts are down in Albany County by 19 percent following the Governor’s comprehensive auto-theft reduction strategy. Governor Hochul was joined by New York State Police Superintendent Steven James today during the visit to Troop G Headquarters in Latham, where she also announced Lieutenant Trenee Young will become the first African-American woman to hold the rank of Captain within the New York State Police.
B-ROLL of the Governor’s walk through of the facility is available on YouTube and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format.
AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.
PHOTOS of the event are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good morning, everyone. When I first came into office two and a half years ago, I gave our State Police a tall order. I said, get the surging crime in the state of New York under control.
First of all, we have to eradicate the fear and unease that was affecting so many of our communities. We also needed to restore New Yorkers’ sense of safety and security. And I said to the Superintendent at the time and to everyone I met with, and there were many, I said, tell me the tools you need to be successful. You know what is necessary. Tell me as the Governor to make sure you have the necessary resources. And at a time when others were recklessly calling for defunding the police, I actually increased funding and we delivered results. [Inaudible] have a tailored, targeted and intentional strategies all to disrupt and drive down specific areas of crime, and we started with gun violence. And we formed the interstate task force on illegal guns to break up sophisticated criminal networks and stem the tide of illegal guns flowing into our streets, breaking the [inaudible] pipeline that was resulting in so many deaths on our streets.
First of all, we boosted coordination between our troopers and other agencies, indeed other states. We employed hot spot policing, sending police into the most impacted areas instead of just everywhere, just going where it's most needed. We fought for record funding for the Gun Involved [Violence] Elimination Initiative, which supports law enforcement statewide, and all of that worked.
And the latest evidence is right here on this table. And I want to call out, and you'll understand why, great leaders we have in this room. Our new Superintendent, Superintendent James, Basil Seggos, you might be wondering why we have the commissioner of DEC here and you'll soon be aware, and all the agency law enforcement who are joining us here today. What are two illegal rifles, an AR-15 and pistol components, counterfeit money, and 3D printers – all seized by Troop G's Special Investigations Unit just this past Friday night, this is an ordinary Friday night, right over in Rensselaer County just 20 minutes from where we are.
And I want to recognize the DEC force rangers who first responded to the complaint. They did a thorough investigation and determined that State Police needed to be involved. And they are the partners that help keep us safe getting these guns off the streets. So I want to thank them.
But this is not just a one off. This is the type of aggressive policing that our State Police have been engaged in every single day, and it's borne out in the numbers. State Police illegal gun seizures are at record highs, up 160 percent since I took office in the summer of 2021. And we're keeping guns away from people who pose a danger to themselves and others. We've strengthened the red flag laws, the extreme risk orders of protection. All those by State Police numbers, extraordinary. It’s gone up 1,300 percent. And today I'm announcing the latest data from 2023 shows that 1,385 red flags – again, this is to alert people that there are people who could do harm to themselves or others – all in 2023 for a total of 2,500 guns. All those guns received as a result of this initiative. Already today, we track these numbers. I read them every single week.
We've already had 290 red flags seizing a total of 590 guns just this year and we filed more ERPOs, we call them in the first two months of 2020 for the first couple of months – first couple of months than all of 2019, 2020 and ‘21 combined. That's what I'm talking about. That's why we're seeing real results. The law is working as I intended and it's saving lives. Fewer guns lead to less gun crime. And right here, the numbers are impressive – Capital region – all across the State of New York.
Outside of New York City, where the State Police work so closely with our local police departments, or the primary law enforcement agency, oftentimes a sheriff's department. Outside of New York City, shootings are down 36 percent in the last two years. Murders are down 30 percent and indeed, we're back to the historic pre pandemic lows of 2017 and 2019. So now we've reached a stabilized point. As we saw that success, we also then simultaneously as gun crimes were going down, we were seeing a spike in auto thefts. We decided to take a similar approach.
Car thefts exploded after the pandemic, mostly upstate and with really troubling spikes in Rochester and Buffalo – two cities I visited at the end of last summer to try and figure out what is going on here. Why were they some of the worst places in America for gun thefts or for car thefts? They are inspired by this TikTok video challenge, which you may be familiar with, that sent thieves and would be thieves and a lot of young people – teenagers, scrambling to try and steal as many vehicles as they could because they wanted to win the competition, which was just abhorrent when you think about it because they were going after mostly Kias and Hyundais. Used Kias and Hyundais are not usually driven by people who also have a spare Lexus in the garage. You steal their Hyundai or Kia – this is the way they get to their job. This is how they drop the kids off at school. This is how they visit their parents in the nursing home. You take that lifeline away from them so cruelly, just so you can meet this challenge. I knew we had to stop this. And as I said, these are primarily people driven with lower incomes.
You walk out an empty driveway, stop at a grocery store, your vehicle's gone. You feel helpless, and that was paralyzing many of our upstate cities for a long time, a long time. And people were joyriding, and we had horrific consequences, deaths have resulted. And others were using them to commit other violent crimes. And I told my team back in September, enough is enough. Let's look at the model we put forth to reduce gun violence and try to replicate it with some finer points and I'll talk about them.
We called it the CARS strategy. Coincidentally, the comprehensive auto theft reduction strategy. It actually worked out like that. We put $50 million – 50 million into crucial technology and equipment for local police. They can't afford this. They didn't know what to use. Tools like license plate readers, drones, using drones, helicopters, all intended to catch these perpetrators. And just like we did with gun violence, we positioned more troopers literally on the streets of these hard-hit cities on the most in the most impacted areas. As I said, many of these car thefts were being committed by teenagers. So, at the same time, we said, let's get these young people in a different direction and we put 5 million toward youth intervention programs. I am so proud that after this concentrated approach, literally in a matter of months, we drove down the number of car thefts dramatically. Car thefts are down 55 percent in Rochester and down 45 percent in Buffalo. Here in Albany County, they're down 25 percent.
If you want any physical proof, just go out to the empowerment lot where I just took a tour. I’ve seen all kinds of vehicles that were used in the commission of many crimes, including those involved in these challenges. And so, there's been car impounds related to auto theft are up nearly a 20 percent increase.
So, here's what we're talking about – we see a spike in a certain area of crimes, I'm able to bring in my best assets, the New York State Police. We zero in on it, and it's actually working. So now, our next challenge is retail theft. Something that many would think should be left to the locals. Except, just like gun seizures, just like car thefts, sometimes our locals need some extra help and expertise. That's how I want to deploy our State Police, with the same precision and the same purpose. And in my State of the State, I detailed a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy, including $25 million to create a specialized retail theft unit within the State Police. Data collection, data sharing and preparations to launches are currently underway. And I want to make this a permanent part of our state law enforcement efforts. But right now, I need my colleagues in the State Legislature to support this as well when we start our budget negotiations in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, I'm putting these retail theft rings on notice. You see how we go after the illegal gun traffickers. You saw how we went after the car thieves. Well, guess what? You're next. You're next. And as I said all along, I'll give all the State Police every tool they need to protect New Yorkers. Our operational budget here has increased over 22 percent since I took office.
But it's also, it's not just about getting people the best technology, the best crime fighting tools, it's also about investing in the people of the New York State Police. Because without them, these dedicated public servants who put their lives on the line every single day, none of this would work. None of it. In order to have more individuals, part of the great New York State family, we went from two academies, to four because I said, why aren't there more people? Why aren't we increasing the ranks? And they said, we don't have enough capacity. We don't have enough graduates. I said, well, then double it, double it. Well, we don't have enough space – find the space. It's a big state and they got it done. And I speak at all the graduations. So, yes, I will now go to four graduations a year instead of two, but I'm proud to do that. And we've also increased the head count by 750 positions and are truly promoting the very best and the very brightest within our ranks.
And today, Superintendent James will announce the promotion of nine troopers from the ranks of Captain to Lieutenant Colonel. And one of them is Lieutenant Trenee Young, who is with us here today. Can you wave your hand? There she is, there she is. With her promotion, Lieutenant Young becomes the very first African American woman to hold the rank of Captain within the New York State Police. Let's give her a round of applause.
Whether she intended or not, she will also help us recruiting others because especially if we're going to schools, high schools, colleges, talking to young people about careers in public service, and I will always say there's nothing more noble than public service. Especially those who are willing to put on a uniform, go into harm's way with no regard for themselves. They are the foundation of a safe society. All of you are part of that. And I want to thank them. Our police agencies are stronger when they reflect the diversity of the public they serve. And that's why two years ago we made our “30X30” pledge. And I said by 2030, which is creeping up on us, I want women to make up at least 30 percent of our State Police recruit classes. And it's clear our Superintendent is intentional and very committed to getting us there.
So on behalf of all New Yorkers I want to congratulate those being promoted. I thank you for your service from the past and going forward, and thank you once again for being part of the New York State – the finest we've ever had, our New York State police. And I want to thank you for your service every single day. And with that, let me turn it over to a true public servant, someone I've gotten to know and have incredible confidence in his ability to lead this outstanding organization and make sure that we're doing everything we can to keep New Yorkers safe.