UTICA — The Utica Police Department and the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office are among several law enforcement agencies across the state to split nearly $900,000 in state aid to solve non-fatal shootings, according to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul.

On Friday, Governor Hochul announced $866,564 in state funding to be split between the police departments in Utica, Buffalo, Rochester, Schenectady and Troy, as well as their local prosecutors offices, to implement evidence-based approaches to improve investigations into non-fatal shootings. This money is following projects in Utica and Newburgh in 2016 that successfully increased the clearance rate of non-fatal shooting investigations.

“As we work to reduce gun violence, it is critical that we solve non-fatal shootings and prevent retaliation in the form of additional gun violence,” Governor Hochul said in a release.

“We know that when these crimes are left unsolved, retaliation can turn deadly. This funding provides police and prosecutors the resources they need to solve non-fatal shootings, prevent retaliation and reduce overall gun violence.”    

According to the governor, law enforcement agencies across the state have reported that small groups of individuals are responsible for the majority of gun violence, but non-fatal shootings can be difficult to solve because of a lack of resources and a lack of cooperation from those involved. Lack of closure on these cases can then contribute to retaliatory violence and a lack of community trust in law enforcement, the governor said.

The new grant funding will run through June and will support dedicated teams of police officers, prosecutors and crime analysts to work together to solve non-fatal shootings, with the dedication of a homicide investigation, officials said.

The Utica Police will receive $45,200 and the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office will receive $47,600. The chosen police agencies are all part of the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative.

“About five years ago, Utica, along with the City of Newburgh, was one of the original municipalities chosen by the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services to pilot a non-fatal shooting investigative platform. During that initial run, we saw a tremendous increase in not only our non-fatal shooting clearance rates, but our ability and capacity to investigate these very difficult cases,” said Utica Police Chief Mark Williams. Between 2014 and 2019, Utica saw an increase from 24% to 36% for solving and clearing non-fatal shooting cases, officials noted.

“Now, again in 2023, we have been fortunate enough to receive funding from DCJS for the non-fatal program. Like most jurisdictions in New York State, we have seen a rise in gun violence. This program will undoubtedly bring the focus back to prosecuting the most violent individuals and bringing justice to the victims and families of senseless gun violence,” Williams stated.