$1.3M Goes To Suffolk Law Enforcement To Fight Violent Crime: Hochul

Suffolk County, NY — Over $1.3 million in funding from New York State has been granted to Suffolk County law enforcement agencies to combat gun violence and violent crime, Governor Kathy Hochul and Senator Monica R. Martinez announced Friday.

The grants are part of a $36 million second round of the Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative, developed to support local law enforcement agencies throughout the state to reduce criminal acts of violence.

According to a press release, Suffolk County's District Attorney’s Office will receive $598,386; the police department will receive $487,893; the sheriff’s office will receive $133,398; and the department of probation was granted $88,000.

The grant money may be used to support law enforcement personnel costs, overtime, equipment and technology, according to officials.

So far, during 2024, communities that participated in the GIVE initiative have experienced a 28% decline in shootings compared to the same period in 2023, according to Martinez's office.

This is GIVE's second year of operation and funding from the program has gone to 28 police departments, DA's offices, probation departments and sheriffs’ offices in 21 counties in New York. Albany, Broome, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Dutchess, Erie, Jefferson, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Rensselaer, Rockland, Schenectady, Suffolk, Tompkins, Ulster and Westchester have all received support from the GIVE initiative.

The program’s second-round cycle will run from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.