Last year, state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to expand New York’s law seizing guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
Since then, the number of emergency protective order cases has increased so dramatically that it has overwhelmed State Police investigators.
“Nobody wants to drop the ball on these, because nobody wants to be responsible for the next tragedy,” said Timothy Dymond, president of the New York State Police Investigators Association. “Our message is, OK, if this is what we’re going to do, we need the resources to do it.”
Known as the Red Flag Act, last year’s expansion increased who can report a potential case in which firearms could be confiscated. The process is very long for State Police investigators, who also have to appear in court.
The $229 billion budget approved in May included more money for an additional class of state police, as well as funding for technology upgrades. But attrition has depleted the ranks of law enforcement in general in recent years.
“What we need is people now. We need investigators now to help with that workload so the other cases don’t suffer,” Dymond said.
Lawmakers amended the law last year in the wake of a racially motivated shooting in Buffalo. State Rep. Pat Fahy, a Democrat, said the increase in the number of risk protection cases is a sign that it is working.
“At this point I think it’s been one of the most effective pieces of legislation we’ve passed in terms of preventing gun violence,” Fahy said.
And local police departments also have a role to play, including coordinating with law enforcement at the county and state level, he said.
“I’m totally open to providing more resources, but we have to make sure that local, provincial and state law enforcement work together and coordinate,” Fahy said.
But Republicans, including state Sen. Dan Stec, have been more skeptical.
“Everybody wants to do more, but then they don’t put the resources into it,” Stec said.
The Association of State Police Investigators worries the procedures could distract law enforcement from other crimes, a concern echoed by Stec.
“They don’t have more resources, that means they’re not patrolling the streets, they’re not catching bad guys, they’re not locking up the people who are hurting us,” Stec said. “They are pushing papers and confiscating firearms.”
