New York sees drop in gun violence, Yonkers reports 57% decrease
Yonkers police officials credit the extra funding for enabling programs like hot spot policing, targeting specific high-crime areas.
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Westchester's largest city has seen a substantial decrease in gun violence, with a 57% reduction in gun violence with injury for the first 7 months of this year compared to the same period last year.
"There's been some legislation over the years that's made our job very difficult. There's raise the age, there's bail reform, there's discovery laws," said Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza.
However, the state's Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative has helped. The program provides funding, training, and technical assistance to police and community-based organizations in areas most affected by gun violence.
"We don't just wait for crime to occur and figure out how to solve it later on, we try to pay attention to what's going on at all times and figure out ways to curb crime before it occurs," Commissioner Sapienza added.
The GIVE program has been implemented in 28 police departments statewide, resulting in an overall 29% decrease in gun violence.
