Elmira Police Chief reacts to 33% drop in gunshot calls
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – Reports of gunshot calls in the city of Elmira are down a third from last year. Police Chief Kristen Thorne says a new anti-gun violence unit is having an impact.
“The gun initiative, they’re doing a great job,” said Chief Thorne.
Last summer, Elmira received a $383,147 New York State grant for the “Gun Involved Violence Elimination” initiative. The money allowed the Elmira Police Detective Bureau to hire two full-time investigators to focus on gun crimes.
“I think it’s huge for the city to have this, to have the two investigators assigned to the GIVE Unit, and we’re going to continue it for as long as we can,” added Chief Thorne.
As 18 News reported on Friday, public records show a 33% year-to-year drop in gunshot calls in the city of Elmira. There have been 14 reported gunshots so far in 2024. That’s down from 21 reported gunshots during the same time last year.
“That’s great, I think that’s a positive direction that we’re going in. I also think that’s across New York State as a whole too, the decrease going down,” Thorne said.
This year’s decrease comes after reported gunshots in Elmira more than doubled in the last five years, from 34 in 2018 to 75 in 2023.
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“What would you say are the main drivers of gun violence?” I asked the Chief.
“A lot of it is drug-related, it seems drugs and guns go hand in hand. A lot of times it’s just an argument between somebody that festers and the result is a shooting or a murder, but a lot of it is drug related,” Thorne replied.
Records also show officers are taking more guns off the streets. Police say they recovered 51 firearms so far this year. They included 21 handguns and 30 long guns. That’s more than double the number of firearms recovered during the same time last year at 22 (14 handguns, 8 long guns).
Records show police made 6 firearm-related arrests so far in 2024. Chief Thorne said “there have been no arrests made stemming from shooting incidents.”
During the same time frame in 2023, police say there was one shooting incident that led to an arrest. Police say they also made 7 firearm related arrests.
Chief Thorne confirmed the Elmira Police Department is looking to install a “gun detection system” around the city. It will be paid for with a $447,795 New York State grant announced by Governor Hochul earlier this month. Chief Thorne says the technology will speed up response times to shooting incidents. He said there is currently no timetable for when the system could be set up.
“How would you describe safety in the city of Elmira?”
I believe it’s a safe city, I believe it’s very safe, said Chief Thorne. “We’re trying our best to get out there and do even more stuff, the more proactive we can be out there in deterring stuff and showing ourselves out there I think is a deterrent for things. Sometimes you’ll have an isolated incident that will spike up people’s concerns, but that is not the going rate across the board.”
You can watch the full interview with Chief Kristen Thorne below.
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