Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that more than $13 million in funding has been awarded to help law enforcement agencies combat gun violence.
The money is being distributed among 17 counties participating in a program called “GIVE,” which stands for “ Gun Involved Violence Elimination.”
Erie and Monroe Counties got the biggest grants, with more than $1.7 million going to Monroe, to be shared by the Rochester Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department, and the District Attorney and Probation offices.
Mike Green, a former Monroe County District Attorney, is now a top official with the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services. He says this money can be used in a variety of ways.
“If it’s salaries or overtime or if it’s equipment or whatever it might be it’s up to each jurisdiction to design the strategies that they feel are most effective,” he told WXXI News.
Green notes that this program is evidence-based, meaning that the cities and agencies that want the funding have to use strategies that have been successful in other places.
“We’ve done a lot of work looking at what’s been tried around the country, what’s been proven to be successful over time, what hasn’t been, and then focusing our efforts on those things that have proven to be successful.”
The 'GIVE' program replaced a previous state funded program called Operation Impact several years ago. Green says the current program requires more proof that various initiatives have been shown to be effective in other communities.
