ALBANY COUNTY — In the midst of negotiations for an overdue state budget, Governor Kathy Hochul paused on April 3 to sign three bills promoting gun safety into law.

At the same time, she touted “brand new data”: In 2025 shootings statewide are down 53 percent, year-to-date, over the pandemic peak of 2022 and murders are down about 40 percent, she said.

From January to March of 2022, there were 497 shootings statewide compared to 236 shootings statewide from January to March of this year, according to the governor’s office.

According to data graphed by the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services, shooting incidents involving injury in Albany County peaked in 2020 at over 120; similarly, the number of shooting victims hit peaked at 100 in 2020 while the number of people killed by guns in Albany County peaked in 2021 at nearly 20.

By 2024, those numbers for Albany County had declined to about 60 people injured or hit and fewer than 10 people killed.

“Instead of always being reactive, we are also proactive,” Hochul said before signed the three bills, which she described this way:

— “The first is adding pistol converters to the definition of rapid fire modification devices”;

— The second, she said, is “strengthening the warnings that gun dealers must provide to customers about the risks of firearms”; and

— “The third is refining how credit-card companies track purchases at gun dealerships. This gives law enforcement the opportunity to find out exactly who may be stockpiling ammunition. And this is an indicator that something untoward could be happening, so it’s an important data point for us to have.”

Hochul said, “You cannot say you're tough on crime, but be soft on guns.” She said she would “continue to call on Republicans in Washington to stop blocking common-sense legislation and protections against gun violence.”

Hochul also highlighted the $370 million in her executive budget meant to reduce gun violence and strengthen communities that are disproportionately affected by crime.

That includes $36 million for Gun Involved Violence Elimination, known as GIVE, in which Albany participates.

In Albany County in 2024, according to GIVE data, there were 52 shooting incidents in which people were injured, down 7 percent from 2023; 63 people were injured by gunfire, down 10 percent; and seven people were killed by gunfire in 2024.

GIVE jurisdictions account for roughly 90 percent of violent crimes involving firearms and 85 percent of violent crime reported outside New York City.

The $370 million in the executive budget also includes $21 million for the SNUG Outreach program, which operates in Albany too. SNUG, which is not an acronym but rather “guns” spelled backwards, uses a public-health approach to address gun violence by identifying the source, interrupting transmission, and treating individuals, families, and communities affected by the violence.