A REAL PLAN TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE IN MANHATTAN
I. INTRODUCTION
Guns were a fixture for me during my childhood growing up in Harlem during the 1980s. My first distinct memory of the police is from when I was about 10 years old. My entire block became a crime scene after a police chase and shootout, leaving gun shell casings everywhere.
I had a gun pointed at me six times as a kid. The first was the handgun we had in our home for protection that my dad had to ward off burglary attempts. But a childhood friend also happened upon it, and almost innocently used it against me. The second time, I had a semi-automatic gun pointed at me as part of a misguided effort to quell a dispute between two groups of kids. The effort did not work; at least one person was shot later that night. Another time, a disgruntled customer shot into a store where I was with a group of friends, sending everyone diving for cover.
The other three times, guns were pointed at me by members of the NYPD. They said I was in a “high crime” area or that they were responding to a violent attack. The false allegations lasted each time for only a few minutes, but the images of the guns have still not yet faded.
All six times were traumatic. But, they pale in comparison to the trauma I saw in my brother-in-law’s eyes after he witnessed the shooting murder of his best friend.
We have come a long way in addressing gun violence since my time growing up in the 1980s, as major crimes are a quarter of what they were in 1990, and shooting incidents have dropped over 50% in the past 14 years, but we still have so much work to do in Manhattan, New York State, and our country. Over 100 Americans are killed by firearms every day and twice that are injured. And, we experienced an increase in shootings in our City in 2020. As Manhattan District Attorney, I will use all available means to keep our city safe through enforcement, intervention, and prevention.
Comprehensive gun-violence reduction can only be achieved through a multi-faceted approach that includes law enforcement, community intervention/improvement, and legislative change. We will not arrest or incarcerate our way out of these problems. By the time a case gets to the point of criminal prosecution, it is already too late.
That is why my plan to address gun violence is about more than just charging and sentencing decisions as a prosecutor, it is about addressing the underlying issues that drive gun violence.
The vast majority of gun crimes are committed by a very small, concentrated number of people. Long-term studies based on cities around America, including our own, have given us the tools to stop the violence before it happens.
We can make our city safer from gun violence through smart, evidence-based policies that center equity and justice. By working to improve our community responses and specifically focusing on key enforcement, intervention, and enhanced services, we will reduce violence and reduce incarceration rates simultaneously.
II. BACKGROUND
Gun violence is a civil rights and equality issue. It is no secret that gun violence disproportionately affects communities of color. Violence and crime are often rooted in a sense of injustice and distrust of the government. The traditional response by law enforcement to crime is greater police presence, crackdowns, and shows of force, which only then serve to reinforce distrust and discontent in the community. Thousands of lives are shattered by violence or incarceration, further weakening the community socially and economically, continuing the spiral.
In New York City as a whole and Manhattan in particular, gun violence has been on the rise in recent months, and as someone who has been directly impacted by gun violence I take every one of these incidents seriously. However, it is important to recognize that the levels of gun violence are nowhere near where they were when I grew up in Manhattan in the 1980s: in 2020 there were about 1300 shootings from January through November, roughly the same level it was in 2015. By comparison, in 1990 there were more than 5000 shootings. That doesn’t mean that the recent increase isn’t startling or tragic. But it is important to understand the context of the crimes in order to address its root causes.
First, it’s important to note that shootings in New York – as in most cities – are highly concentrated. In Manhattan, 141 shooting incidents were recorded above 96th street, compared to 36 incidents below 96th street. Like most other cities across America, shootings in New York disproportionately affect communities of color, who are also being ravaged by the economic recession, COVID-19, and unrest over police brutality.
One of the most worrisome aspects of gun violence in New York is its effect on youth. In New York State in 2018, nearly 70% of gun deaths among children and teens were homicides and gun death was the second leading cause of death among children and teens, surpassed only by cancer. Black children and teens were 5 times as likely as their white peers to die by guns.
III. MY PLAN
My plan to address gun violence in Manhattan is a holistic approach that embraces community-based efforts to stop gun violence before it starts, and enforcement mechanisms targeted at what actually keeps Manhattan safe. My plan has 6 parts:
1. Community Intervention
2. Targeted Enforcement
3. Removing Risky Guns
4. Disrupting The Iron Pipeline
5. Ghost Guns
6. Legislation
1. Community Intervention
By the time a gun case makes its way to my desk, it is already too late. Even if it is never used in a shooting, the mere presence of a firearm poses a grave risk to that entire community. That is why, in addition to prosecuting gun crimes, I will focus my efforts on stopping gun violence before it starts, supporting proven, community-led intervention efforts with track records of enhancing public safety far more than locking up gun owners after they have been caught. We will support these efforts financially, by diverting asset forfeiture funds to them, and also by having DA personnel be directly or indirectly involved in these efforts where appropriate. There are three major community intervention models that have been shown to be highly effective when they are properly deployed and managed.
First, there are street outreach programs like the Cure Violence model. The Cure Violence model deploys credible messengers with first-hand experience in gun violence as ambassadors in the streets, actively working to identify and engage those most at risk to mediate conflicts and prevent violence. They de-normalize violence and provide avenues for healing and strengthening communities. The model has seen great success nationwide and in our own city; the SOS South Bronx program resulted in a 63% decrease in shooting victimizations in the Mott Haven area. The Man Up! Inc program in East New York saw a 50% reduction in gun injuries. Harlem has several successful street outreach programs like Street Corner Resources, Stand Against Violence East Harlem (SAVE Harlem) and Speaking Peace Forward which are doing frontline work to stop the spread of gun violence with targeted efforts in and around concentrated areas of gun violence, which deserve the strong support of the District Attorney serving this community.
Second, there are focused deterrence models like Group Violence Intervention. In this model, we bring law enforcement, community leaders, and service providers together to identify and engage individuals in groups or gangs who have been or are at risk to be violent, and clearly communicate the need to end the violence, provide social services – such as education, therapy, and employment guidance – and finally let them know that violence will be met with heightened enforcement. This type of intervention has been successful for many years in New Orleans and Oakland and has been used in parts of the city since 2015. In Boston, where GVI was associated with a 61% reduction in youth homicides. In Oakland, California, GVI and related strategies led to a nearly 50% reduction in homicides and injury shootings from 2012 to 2017. I will work collaboratively with community stakeholders to fully participate in this type of programming and direct asset forfeiture funds towards it where appropriate.
Third, are Hospital-Based Violence Intervention programs (HVIPs). These are teams that either respond to or are based in hospitals and trauma centers, not connected to law enforcement. They engage victims of violence and provide services and counseling in the small, unique window of opportunity right after a violent incident when a survivor is willing to share their experience with violence and accept support. Many incidents of gun violence in cities are related to cycles of victimization and retaliation that result in spirals of bloodshed. HVIPs have proven effective at heading off such feuds by connecting victims with counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy services, mediation, and access to resources all seeking to mitigate harm and reduce the likelihood of retaliation either by the victim or those close to the victim. These programs have seen success in Baltimore and San Francisco. Youth who received the hospital intervention in Oakland were 70% less likely to be arrested and 60% less likely to have any criminal involvement. Program participants in Baltimore had an injury recidivism rate of only 5% compared to 36% for non-participants and much lower rates of arrest.
These programs should be well-resourced and able to provide continuous, effective 24/7 intervention coverage so that no matter where or when, there are community interventions at the ready to defuse situations before they explode into violence. Not every situation demands police intervention, and we can avoid potentially violent encounters by utilizing community resources wherever possible.
2. Targeted Enforcement
For years, our city attempted to address violence with blunt, catch-all strategies such as stop and frisk and broken windows which were ineffective, racist, and created a deep distrust of police by communities of color. I know this all too well, because I have been stopped countless times by the NYPD and, as noted above, three times at gunpoint. This is why as District Attorney, I will pursue a strategy of targeted enforcement fueled by data and evidence-based strategies.
Study after study has shown that overly broad increases in enforcement have little to no effect on reducing crime. At the Attorney General’s Office, I oversaw one of those studies. In fact, there is ample evidence that simply increasing arrest numbers and enforcement actions actually creates distrust and division, ultimately leading to more harm. Communities that feel they cannot trust law enforcement are less likely to report crimes and help police. For example, the American Sociological Association released a study showing that high profile incidents of police violence led to lower rates of 911 calls in spite of continuing violent crime. The Justice Policy Institute found that drug and gang units that were not tied to specific and comprehensive programs often led to conflicts and rights violations and in some cases even increased violence.
Instead, my office will focus its resources on the true drivers of violence in crime hot-spots. A key issue in determining who is really driving gun violence is going beyond merely relying on the word of the NYPD, but proactively getting direct community input, as well as embedding prosecutors within the NYPD to monitor and vet their work in areas of concentrated violence. Similar programs have been put into place in Chicago and Philadelphia and are achieving real results.
Targeted enforcement means that there will be no one-size-fits all approach to gun prosecutions. It also means that we will do away with the most common outcome in current gun prosecutions: 1 – 3 year jail or prison sentences for the possession of a firearm (mere possession cases are the most commonly prosecuted gun offense, clearly those firearm possession cases associated with a specific incident of violence are and should be treated differently). These cases do not meaningfully incapacitate those who truly drive gun violence, but they force those who are not drivers of violence onto a path that almost inexorably leads to recidivism. Indeed, not infrequently these cases involve someone who NEVER touched a gun. My brother in law’s case provides a prime example. Then a college student, he got into an unfortunate, but somewhat typical schoolyard fistfight. No weapons were drawn. Unlike the policing of white students in these instances, he and all of his friends involved in the fistfight were arrested. Upon arrest, it was discovered that one of the boys had a gun, and ALL of the boys were charged with possessing the gun. As the data suggested it would, this case put my brother in law on a path that led to recidivism.
We need to recognize that not every person charged with possessing an illegal gun in New York City is a driver of violence. The gun in my childhood home provides another example. My dad had an illegal gun not because he liked guns or because he was “dangerous”; he had a gun because of crime in the neighborhood. This was not an idle notion. I vividly remember learning about the presence of the gun when he retrieved it when I reported to him that I believed that someone had broken into our home. My experience is consistent with the data. Studies have shown that people who possess firearms often do so because of fear and uncertainty rather than violent intent. Often, this is driven by economic uncertainty as well as distrust in law enforcement to protect them. Sending these individuals to jail or prison increases the likelihood of recidivism. In short, it does not make Manhattan safer. Fortunately, New York City has a robust array of programming for appropriate gun cases, including a number of programs already used for gun cases in other boroughs.
On the other hand, some who possess firearms do use them violently, and repeatedly. Meaningful incapacitation for these individuals does keep Manhattan safer. Strong, and swift, sentences can also serve as a powerful deterrent against future violence: A study by the National Institute of Justice shows that fast, predictable justice has a greater deterrent affect than higher penalties alone. As such, I will work with the New York courts to develop a gun court system in Manhattan, similar to existing gun courts in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
In sum, when I am District Attorney, most gun cases will lead to one of two outcomes: rehabilitative programs and other non-jail outcomes for those who are not driving gun violence, and swift and certain prison sentences for those who are.
3. Removing Risky Guns
I will also work to reduce the potential for future gun violence in non-gun cases. One of the most common forms of gun violence is intimate partner and family violence. The law gives us two tools to combat firearms violence in those situations – Orders of Protection (OOP) and Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO). These orders can protect our communities by taking guns away from those who pose a risk to themselves and others. Having access to a gun triples the risk of suicide and doubles the risk of homicide in a household.
Studies are starting to show that identifying potential violence and removing guns through these orders can help prevent suicides, homicides, and mass shootings. But ERPOs in particular have been broadly underutilized since they were made law in New York in 2019. I will make it a policy that prosecutors seek these orders and follow up on their enforcement. It isn’t enough anymore to just ask for these orders and act like we’ve done all we can. Without efficient and effective execution, they are just pieces of paper. I will do everything I can to make sure that victims are safe and that dangerous firearms are taken away from those most at risk of using them.
4. Disrupting the Iron Pipeline
New York State and City have of some of the toughest gun laws in the country. So why in NYC do we recover approximately 3,000 crime guns every year? The vast majority of the illegal guns seized in this city come from out of state. The lax gun laws in states up and down I-95 – the Iron Pipeline – provide an opportunity for gun traffickers to buy out of state and import deadly weapons into our communities. So we must identify and target those traffickers.
At the Attorney General’s Office, I led a team that developed a technology to identify traffickers and their co-conspirators, and I will use that same technology and understanding of these issues to target these individuals as Manhattan District Attorney. As part of this program, I will seek to have specialist prosecutors from the Manhattan DA, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and New York Attorney General’s Office cross-designated for state and federal prosecution, recognizing that we cannot stop the flow of guns into Manhattan without looking well outside our borders and working together.
I will also work to partner senior prosecutors at hotspot precincts and the real-time crime center to provide instant support and guidance to field operations. This will help reduce potentially costly delays in developing cases and evidence in emergent situations.
5. Ghost Guns & 3D Print Guns
A new and dangerous development in American gun violence is the specter of ghost guns. A “ghost gun” is an untraceable firearm manufactured outside the traditional processes, usually through the purchase of unregulated, “unfinished” gun parts that can easily be transformed into an operable firearm with tools available at any hardware store. Ghost guns also include guns made in whole or in part using 3D printing technology. Ghost gun kits are often used to make assault weapons and, increasingly are used to make handguns recovered at crime scenes. In addition to allowing people who cannot lawfully have a gun to acquire one without a background check, ghost guns are untraceable, meaning there is little hope for investigators recovering these firearms to determine where the gun came from, or who it belongs to.
New York City has rules that forbid the ownership and sale of ghost guns, but more must be done at the state and federal level. These ghost guns must be regulated and their traffickers must be brought to justice. I will fight for strong laws that will protect us from this scourge and give us the tools to take down those responsible for bringing these weapons into our city.
6. Legislation
New York City has strong gun control laws that help keep us safe. In fact, we have some of the lowest gun violence rates in America. But more can and must be done, especially across the states and federally.
As someone who has prosecuted cases involving gun violence and has personally experienced the effects of gun violence, I fully support and will advocate for better legislation, including:
· Universal Background Checks
· Enhanced Firearms Trafficking Laws
· Banning Assault Weapons and High Capacity Magazines
· Accountability for Firearms Manufacturers
· Bans on Ghost Guns and 3D Printed Guns
· Gun Kingpin laws
· Microstamping requirements
· Other laws that make us safer and reduce gun violence.
I will also stand against laws that place us in danger, such as concealed carry reciprocity laws and any other attempts to override our gun control laws.
IV. CONCLUSION
Gun violence is a complex problem that will not be solved with simplistic solutions or self-serving political rhetoric. We owe it to those who live in and love this City to get past the platitudes and hysterical headlines and instead focus unflinchingly on serving our community through programs and strategies that actually work. As your District Attorney, that is exactly what I will do.