BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Police Department is being overwhelmed by the rising number of shootings in the city.
"It's absolutely a very big strain on our resources," Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo said. "We have an entire unit, the Gun Violence Unit, that are dedicated strictly to investigating non-fatal shootings. We have been utilizing our homicide squad as additional manpower in serious shootings. Again, it is very overwhelming."
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There were 21 victims of gun violence in Buffalo during the Fourth of July weekend. Among the injured were children ages 3 and 8. In response, police plan to increase patrols, especially in neighborhoods most affected by the shootings.
A common problem facing law enforcement is that the victims of the shootings are not cooperating with the police. In many cases, authorities said the victims of the gun violence are also the same ones committing the crimes.
"These are street level shootings where if the individual survives, they don't want to tell who shot them," Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said. "I don't like over-generalizing and I don't mean to...but a lot of those getting shot are in the gangs. You're a shooter one day and a shootee (sic) the next day."
Community leaders and elected officials are saying "enough is enough" and say the shootings will decrease if people are willing to tip off authorities. Buffalo Police's confidential tip line can be called or texted at 847-2255.
Is Bail Reform entirely to blame?
When Albany democrats reformed many of the state's bail laws, it allowed people charged with non-violent felonies to be released without having to post bail. Among the non-violent felonies include gun possession.
"People that are arrested with an illegal handgun are our shooting victims the very next day," Rinaldo said. "Our shooting victims on Wednesday are our gun defendants on Thursday."
Flynn agreed that the bail reforms are a contributing factor to the rising gun violence in the city. However, he also said it's not entirely to blame because other major cities that are seeing a rise in gun crime, such as Chicago, do not have bail reform laws.
"You can't just be intellectually lazy and go political and blame it all on bail reform," Flynn said. "I am critical of the bail reform but I tend not to be intellectually lazy...I do believe bail reform has a factor in it in that the bail reform legislation now mandates we put a third form of bail on individuals for violent crimes and felonies if they don't get remanded. When you put that third form of bail on someone on a gun charge...they're getting out now easier than they did before."
The district attorney said the ripple effect from COVID was a major factor. Because many resources that were funded to combat gun violence came to a halt due to COVID restrictions like social distancing, many shootings weren't stopped when they normally would be.
"When you have that and you have that disconnect with the community, especially the urban centers of this country who need those services, you have a problem," Flynn said. "This is what has come to fruition with that problem."
