New York faces limits in coping with gun violence without federal change: expert

Police stand guard at a nearby street after a shooting took place at a subway station in Brooklyn, New York, the United States, on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The combination of mental health stressors and the big surplus of guns in the United States typically end up with this increase in shootings and homicides, an expert said.

NEW YORK, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Local governments in New York face constraints in addressing gun violence if the U.S. federal government keeps existing laws unchanged, according to an expert from New York.

Without change in certain federal legislation, "we're limited as to what we can do on the local level. Cities like New York are not gonna be able to control a lot of the guns that come into the state and come into the city. But this has been a problem going on for decades," said Christopher Herrmann, assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the City University of New York.

There's not much that New York City can do to control guns, especially if the overwhelming majority of guns are coming in from out of state, Herrmann told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday.

The gun control laws in states like Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and even Pennsylvania are kind of causing headaches to New York, according to Herrmann.

"New York City has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, but the problem is that the overwhelming majority of guns that are used in crimes in New York City are out-of-state purchased guns," said Herrmann.

The significant increase of shootings and homicides in New York City and a lot of other cities around the United States over the last few years are linked to the pandemic, unemployment and financial stressors, which led to housing and food security issues as well as mental health stressors, according to Herrmann.

Herrmann said the combination of mental health stressors and the big surplus of guns in the United States typically end up with this increase in shootings and homicides.

Traditionally, violent crime sees about 20 percent to 30 percent increase in the summer as people spend more time outdoors and more alcohol sales, he added.

Policemen stand guard near a shooting scene in Times Square in New York, the United States, May 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Herrmann said his research shows that about 6 percent of the streets in New York City experience one or more shootings. "This is a very localized problem that I feel like communities and the police can partner on and really create driving long term solutions," he said.

The unveiling of the Neighborhood Safety Teams in New York City is one of the easy things that the police department can do to start to address the gun violence problem in New York City, according to Herrmann.

"The mayor and the police department will also need to interact more with communities, specifically the communities that are experiencing these high gun violence problems," said Herrmann.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams' new initiative with the summer youth employment, Herrmann said, is going to be well received but most of the time gun violence interruption programs are not properly funded.

On Tuesday, New York City saw one of the most horrific shootings in decades when a gunman opened fire into commuters at a crowded subway station, leaving over 20 people shot or otherwise injured.

According to data from the New York City Police Department, the city is witnessing a surge of gun shootings with over 300 people shot so far this year.