Senator Kennedy Announces Operation IMPACT Funds To Fight Violent Crime

Kennedy says state will direct $1,467,600 in Operation IMPACT funds to support a multiagency effort to fight violent crime in Buffalo and Erie County.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Senator Tim Kennedy, D-Buffalo, announced new Operation IMPACT grants are headed to Buffalo and communities across the state to strengthen local law enforcement agencies’ efforts to curb gun violence and improve neighborhood safety. New York State will direct $1,467,600 in Operation IMPACT funding to Erie County to support a multiagency effort, led by the Buffalo Police Department, to combat violent crime.

“Too many lives have been lost or destroyed as a result of violent crime in Buffalo and Western New York. We must do all we can to improve the safety of our community and prevent crime in our neighborhoods,” Kennedy said. “Since 2005, crime rates have fallen in the City of Buffalo, but we still have the 11th highest violent crime rate in the nation, according to new FBI statistics. Operation IMPACT supports collaborative law enforcement efforts that aim to get violent gangs off the streets, prevent criminal activity and strengthen our neighborhoods.”

Operation IMPACT is in its 10th year, and has a proven track record of reducing violent crime in communities across the state.

The police agencies, spread across 17 counties, that participate in Operation IMPACT reported a nine percent decrease in index crime in the first four months of 2013, as compared with the same period in the previous year. The FBI and the state use reports of rape, murder, robbery, aggravated assault and other violent crimes, as index crimes to monitor the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts.

Operation IMPACT supports an array of unique crime-fighting programs in the 17 communities that receive IMPACT grants, according to the Governor’s office. In Buffalo, Operation IMPACT supports a multiagency effort that brings together local, county, state and federal agencies to pursue violent gangs and eliminate the criminal activity they engage in. Buffalo Police report that since 2005, crime has fallen by 20 percent, and violent crime has declined by 14 percent.  

“This state investment through Operation IMPACT will ensure the multiagency collaboration continues, and it will help make Buffalo an even safer place to live and work,” Senator Kennedy said. “I commend our local law enforcement agencies for working together to reduce violent crime, and I am proud of the state’s renewed commitment to support efforts to better protect our communities.”

Operation IMPACT is an initiative of the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services. It supports innovative strategies to reduce violent crime in the 17 counties in Upstate New York and on Long Island, that account for 80 percent of the state’s crime, outside of New York City.  

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Senator Timothy M. Kennedy represents the New York State Senate’s 63rd District, which is comprised of the town of Cheektowaga, the city of Lackawanna and nearly all of the city of Buffalo. More information is available at http://kennedy.nysenate.gov.