BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was in Buffalo on Friday to announce a previously disclosed increase in taxpayer money for community-based groups that run programs aimed at reducing gun violence in high-crime cities like Buffalo.
Sixteen groups will share in $2 million to continue their efforts.
Meanwhile, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn is taking additional steps to prosecute those involved in the area's fast-growing crime category: vehicle thefts.
While here, Hochul took credit for a reduction in shootings, which she claims can be attributed to stepped-up efforts by police to seize illegal guns.
While it's certainly not the case in all parts of the state, the governor said it appears that certain categories of crimes which she described as the "most frightening" types, are down so far this year in Buffalo.
Sadly, just hours before Hochul came to Buffalo, two women were shot, one fatally, in the city.
Fewer Shootings So Far This Year
In 2022, there were 70 homicides in Buffalo, which was the highest number in the city in 17 years.
But so far this year, the number of homicides, (involving all means of weapons and not just guns) is on pace to be the lowest in more than a decade.
"The numbers really are down, and they're down dramatically," said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.
The number of shootings are also down through the first half of the year.
But, overall, reported serious crimes in the city are running at about the same pace as they have for the past 17 years.
"Except for car thefts," said Flynn.
Vehicle Theft Soars
The number of stolen vehicles reported in the city this year stood at 2,552 according to numbers provided by the Buffalo police department.
With July not yet over, the number of reported vehicle thefts in the city through just the first seven months of 2023 is approaching 900 more than in all of 2022. And there are still five full months left in the year.
Flynn notes the thefts increasingly involve young people, who he says are also increasingly aware that consequences may not be as severe as they once were due to state laws regarding bail reform and its Raise the Age statute.
More cases involving young car thieves end up in family court instead of criminal court, according to Flynn.
"The family court culture is that we are going to look immediately toward services... we're going to look immediately toward (saying) oh this poor kid, he's really not a bad kid lets help him out," said Flynn. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for services...but it can't just focus on services. There has to be services and accountability, as well as consequences."
Governor Hochul continued to put accountability for the problem not on the thieves, but on car makers, specifically Kia and Hyundai, certain models of which have been demonstrated through social media posts to be relatively easy to steal.
It is estimated that 8 million of the cars produced by those companies between 2011 and 2022 lack engine immobilizers which, according to police, allow thieves to hotwire them using a USB.
"They have a glitch in the system which we were told would be fixed last March and they have not properly solved this," insisted Hochul, who sees no correlation between the uptick in young people stealing cars and the laws of New York State which limit potential penalties against them due to their age.
"We didn't see these numbers a year ago, or the year before, or the year before," noted Hochul. "And Raise the Age has been in effect a number or years."
Focus on Auto Thefts
Flynn is appointing an additional prosecutor in his office to focus solely on auto theft, the number of which has spiked so dramatically in Buffalo and Rochester, that those cities ranked 3rd and 1st in the nation respectively, for the highest year-over-year increase.
Hochul also made mention of that while in Buffalo.
"I have my team working on this strategy we'll be unveiling in about two weeks, to talk about the areas that are hardest hit, and it is Erie County and Monroe County and that's why we're coming up with an approach," she said.