“As members of the Legislature convene for today’s Public Protection budget hearing, I hope the highest priority is placed on the alarming spike in violent crime we saw in 2020. Right now, Gov. Cuomo is threatening to withhold funding from police agencies that don’t meet an April 1 deadline to overhaul their operations. His ‘reimagine’ approach completely ignores the harsh realities taking place in our cities. Homicides and shootings have skyrocketed. In Albany alone, murders spiked 300 percent from 2019 to 2020. Further:

• In Albany, shootings were up 110 percent and shooting victims were up 150 percent;
• In Buffalo, homicides increased by 36 percent, shootings were up 97 percent;
• In New York City, homicides increased by 45 percent, shootings were up 97 percent;
• In Rochester, homicides increased by 59 percent, shooting incidents were up 69 percent and shooting victims were up 93 percent; and
• In Syracuse, homicides increased by 55 percent while shootings were up 74 percent.

Liberal pro-criminal policies have already proven an overwhelming failure, never more evident than in 2020. We need an immediate course correction to get these exploding statistics under control. Simply stated, any budget proposals that undermine police funding are short-sighted, dangerous and will only exacerbate the issue of violent crime in New York.”