Shockingly High Number of Guns Are Being Seized Across New York

Top New York officials are happy to announce new efforts to fight gun violence in the Empire State are starting to show "signs of progress."

Gov. Kathy Hochul released new data on gun seizures, gun-tracing investigations and gun-related crime across New York State.

"(This) indicates New York State's exhaustive efforts and strategic investments to combat the gun violence epidemic are beginning to show signs of progress," Hochul's office stated in a press release.

New York State Police Seized 98% More Guns in the Past Year

Between January 2022 and June 2022, New York State Police sized 662 guns. That's 98 percent more guns seized than compared against the same time period in 2021, officials say.

"With substantial state investment in gun violence prevention programs and unprecedented collaboration between law enforcement agencies, we are beginning to see meaningful progress in our exhaustive efforts to eradicate gun violence from our communities," Hochul said. "We are aggressively ramping up our efforts to get deadly weapons—including ghost guns—off of our streets, and have developed hundreds of investigative leads spanning 22 states—work resulting in the first discernible reduction in gun violence in more than two years."

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New York State Police and non-New York City police departments have seized 94 percent more guns than in 2020 and 40 percent more guns than in 2021. Hochul is also proud to point out that ghost gun seizures have increased 1,800 percent since 2018, 212 percent since 2020 and 38 percent in 2022.

To date in 2022, police across New York have seized 360 ghost guns year-to-date. In 2022, New York State Police conducted 346 gun-tracing investigations.

Shootings Drop In New York City

In New York City, Hochul pointed out the first noticeable drop in gun crime in over two years. There has been a 12 percent drop in shootings in New York City over the past year.

"While this is undeniable progress, our work is just getting started. In the wake of the reckless Supreme Court decision to strike down the 'proper cause' provision of New York's concealed carry law, I am convening an extraordinary session of the legislature tomorrow, where we will enact new policy that carefully regulates access to concealed carry permits within the confines of the decision. My staff has been working with the legislature around-the-clock to get this done right. We will stop at nothing to protect New Yorkers," Hochul added.