Hochul Highlights Reduced Shootings in State Gun Violence Elimination Initiative Areas

MOUNT HOPE, N.Y.—Gov. Kathy Hochul celebrated the state’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative, which bolsters local policing, for lowering the number of shootings in the Mid-Hudson area and around New York.

The governor announced on May 20 that shootings in the state decreased in the first four months of 2026 from the same period in 2025. Data from the Division of Criminal Justice Services show that overall gun violence has decreased in communities using the GIVE program.

Across the state, 28 communities and cities participate in the GIVE initiative, including the City of Middletown, the City of Newburgh, and the City of Kingston. The program gives $36 million in funding to local police agencies for equipment, overtime, and personnel. It also provides training and technical assistance for hot spot policing, focused deterrence, street outreach, youth engagement, and incorporating procedural justice into law enforcement.

Official doctrine outlines that procedural justice focuses on how law enforcement interacts with communities and how police are perceived by the public. Implementation centers around officers being respectful, giving citizens a voice in an encounter, being neutral decision makers, and being trustworthy.

State data show that 18 of the 28 GIVE initiative communities had no gun-related homicides in 2026, including areas such as Middletown, Newburgh, Kingston, Ithaca, and Spring Valley.

State data also show that the number of people killed by firearms in GIVE initiative communities decreased by 43 percent, comparing the months of January to June of 2026 to the same period in 2025. This represents a drop to 21 deaths from 37 deaths across the communities.

The data indicate that the number of shooting victims fell by 19 percent, to 127 from 157, and shooting victim injuries fell by 17 percent, to 116 people injured from 140 people.

The governor’s office said that the 28 agencies involved in the GIVE program deal with 90 percent of violent crimes involving guns, and 85 percent of all violent crime, reported outside of New York City’s five boroughs.

Local leaders in Orange County also voiced their support for the state’s efforts to address violent crimes involving guns.

State Sen. James Skoufis, representing New York Senate District 42, covering most of Orange County, said in a statement that the strong partnership between local leadership and the state is helping Middletown thrive.

Middletown Mayor Joe DeStefano echoed Skoufis in the statement, saying that the partnership with the GIVE program has helped reduce violence and kept the local community safer.

Violent crime has fallen in the years after the COVID-19 crime spike.

For New York, 2021 was a year of high violent crime rates, with homicide spiking in 2020 to 839, from 568 the year prior. There were 882 homicide cases in 2021.

New York shooting incidents are significantly fewer now than they were in the January to April period of 2021. Firearm homicides and shooting victim numbers have fallen by 66 percent since 2021, dropping to 21 deaths from 61 deaths, and to 127 victims from 373 victims. Shooting incidents with injury decreased by 64 percent, to 116 incidents now from a high of 324.