NY spearheads regional, data-driven approach to tracing illegal guns
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The state plans to improve data analysis and information sharing with neighboring states, federal agencies and local law enforcement partners and beef up the analytical capabilities of the State Police.
New York's new Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns is taking a data-driven approach to reducing gun violence by investing in tools that will help stop the flow of illegal firearms and enable multiple states to efficiently share tracing data.
Citing a recent uptick in gun-related incidents across the country, Gov. Kathy Hochul stressed the need for data collaboration after the first meeting of the task force last week.
“This is not a New York phenomenon, this is a national phenomenon,” Hochul said at a Jan. 26 press conference following the meeting. “And we now have to pool together all the tools in a concerted way, not just deploying what we have available to us here [in New York]… but also saying where are these guns coming from?”
According to existing data, guns are behind chaos and disorder in New York, the Governor's Office said. The State Police's Criminal Gun Clearinghouse recovered 1,074 illegal guns last year, and in New York City, 4,473 illegal guns were traced from out-of-state sources, with most coming from southern states like Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
Hochul's 2023 proposed budget includes funding to enhance the analytical prowess of the State Police so they can help local law enforcement with anti-gun trafficking and crime investigations.
Close to $4 million will go towards new equipment, software and special onboarding for the state’s computer and cybercrimes unit. An additional $1.4 million will be invested to combat computer crimes, while $527,000 will be allocated for social media analysts, and the gun crime tracing team will receive a $215,000 increase.
The Department of Criminal Justice Services' Crime Analysis Center network will receive a $13 million investment toward the purchase of dedicated crime gun and ballistic tracing equipment for each center.
The task force is made up of law enforcement representatives from eight neighboring states – Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New Hampshire – besides New York’s city and state police departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"Gun violence is a public health crisis driven by a plague of illegal guns flowing into New York from out of state," Hochul said. "We are taking action to tackle this crisis head-on, and this collaboration with our local, interstate, and federal partners will help stop the flow of illegal guns and save lives."
The group is expected to meet again in the coming weeks, and the New York State Police will hold an intra-state consortium, where they will share information with New York's local law enforcement agencies.