STATETEN ISLAND According to NYPD data, shootings on Staten Island fell to a record low in 2024.

From January 1 to December 15, there were only 15 shooting events and 15 shooting victims reported in the borough.

According to NYPD CompStat data, such numbers indicate at least a 31-year low for the Island and a more than 40% decrease from the previous year’s gun violence.

Shootings in the city decreased 7% from 2023.

A closer look into Staten Island trends is provided here.

Shootings at a historic low

There were 15 shooting occurrences, which led to the same number of shooting victims, as opposed to 27 incidences, which led to 29 victims during the same period last year.

Compared to the previous year, that indicates a 48% decrease in gunshot victims and a 44% decrease in shooting events.

More importantly, those numbers are the lowest Staten Island annual total ever recorded in the NYPD CompStat period. The Police Department originally implemented the crime tracking system in 1994.

These figures go all the way back to 1993, when the borough reported 101 shooting events, according to the online database.

In October, the Staten Island NYPD announced on X, then known as Twitter, that there had been the fewest shooting victims and occurrences in Staten Island’s history.

These two unlawfully possessed firearms were recently removed by our allies in the @NYPDDetectives and members of the @NYPD121Pctre.The findings, which show the fewest shooting victims and shooting events in Staten Island’s history, speak for themselves. Our cops did a fantastic job!image.twitter.com/bfppPpkmY8

As a recent comparison, Staten Island police reported 28 shooting incidents in 2022, 35 in 2021, and 39 in 2020. There were 35 shooting victims in 2022, 39 in 2021, and 43 in 2020 as a result of such occurrences.

This year, police have responded to just one gunshot homicide, which is a record low number. It was not until 2004 when there was only one gun-related death on Staten Island in a single year.

Three of the seven individuals killed by shooting in 2023 were minors under the age of 18.

Six of the thirty-five gunshot victims died in 2022. Nine shooting victims died from their wounds in 2020, and 12 individuals were shot and killed in 2021.

Tactical NYPD change

The NYPD has implemented a tactical change to combat violence within the last two years.

In an interview with Advance/SILive.com in December 2023, The NYPD borough commander at the time, Assistant Chief Joseph Gulotta, listed several strategies to prevent violent crime, including identifying deployment zones, ensuring that officers were in the proper locations, and maintaining inter-precinct contact.

The NYPD designated four violence zones—areas where violent crimes are frequently committed—and directed more resources there.

According to Gulotta, those regions were stabilized by the extra police officers and resources we received. It allowed our detective squad some time to begin investigating shootings and gun-related incidents, and during that time, they made significant progress in making arrests that also assisted in removing some shooters and firearms from the streets.

Change is here

Mike Perry gave a speech at the True 2 Life-led Shooting Response event on February 26, 2021, at the intersection of Osgood and Vanderbilt Avenues in Clifton. (Derek Alvez/Staten Island Advance)

Reaching out to young people has received special attention in the past two years following the tragic shooting deaths of numerous in 2023.

Gulotta disclosed an intelligence-gathering apparatus in the 2023 interview that draws from a number of sources, including the Department of Education (DOE), field intelligence officers, youth coordination officers, and patrol.

The proactive collaboration between law enforcement and local anti-gun violence organizations is directly responsible for the record-low gun violence, according to Mike Perry, program manager of True 2 Life, a Stapleton-based nonprofit that is a part of New York City’s Crisis Management System (CMS).

The first line of defense is, first and foremost, True 2 Life. Perry clarified that over the past ten years, our anti-gun violence organization has been the most active. In terms of how True 2 Life mentors more than 100 high-risk youth around the borough, our relationships are inside these schools. Many organizations are reactive, but they are vital because you need to have things in place where you’re reacting to situations.

According to Perry, the NYPD and the few other anti-gun violence groups should also be given recognition.

We must give them credit because, in my opinion, they are attempting to take a much more active role in the community, which is fantastic because the “get them and lock them up” mentality is never sustainable. According to Perry, incarceration is never a long-term answer. Although we still have a long way to go, I appreciate that NYPD is taking the initiative in the community, interacting with youth, and providing specific services. Very appreciative of their work.

According to Perry, True 2 Life has continuously worked with young people and offered them resources like a job program, mental health services, conflict mediation classes, and mentorship.

According to Perry, we have around 30 employees that mentor young people throughout this borough by doing unseen work like house calls and late-night phone calls that help pull them off a precipice.

Perry claims that by providing young people with an alternative, attitudes and conventions have changed, directly reducing violence.

The figures cannot be deceived. “Remain positive and don’t discount the changes you’re witnessing,” Perry said. Examine the numbers and maintain a positive attitude because the shift is not only imminent but now here. We have motion, and the change is progressing. It’s wonderful that we didn’t lose any children this year.

NYPD precincts saw a drop

All seven of the 2023 fatal shootings occurred in the 120th Precinct, which covers the North Shore, according to data from Advance/SILive.com. There were four in the Stapleton region and one each in Clifton, New Brighton, and Castleton Corners.

The lone gunshot homicide in Mariners Harbor in 2024 occurred in the 121st Precinct, which covers the Northwest and West Shore neighborhoods of the borough. This year, there were three shooting occurrences in that precinct area, including one fatality.

Despite having 11 shooting victims and the highest number of shooting events this year, the 120th Precinct witnessed no fatal shootings.

This year, there was only one gunshot occurrence in the 122nd Precinct, which covers the Mid-Island communities of the borough.

This year, there were no shooting incidents in the 123rd Precinct, which covers the South Shore areas of the borough.

D.A.: More work to be done

When asked about the decrease in gun violence on the borough, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said that, although promising, there is still more to be done.

The nearly double-digit drop in reported crime in our borough this year should give all Staten Islanders hope, even if much more has to be done to properly restore public safety. According to McMahon, the Staten Island Approach to crimefighting is effective, but this is not the time for a victory lap. The men and women of my office are committed to securing justice for the victims of crime, diverting individuals with serious mental health and addiction disorders into life-saving treatment and rehabilitation programs, and holding dangerous criminals and recidivists accountable in court by collaborating with the NYPD. It should come as no surprise that our borough is seeing notable drops in homicides, shootings, and stolen cars thus far this year, as the criminals responsible for crime on Staten Island face harsh penalties in the courts.

District Attorney Michael E. McMahon stated in 2025 that he will keep collaborating with the NYPD to carry on the tradition of making our cherished borough an even safer place to live. (The Advance of Staten Island)Advance of Staten Island

McMahon stated that he will keep collaborating with the NYPD in 2025 to carry on the tradition of making our cherished borough an even safer place to live.

Citywide trends

The number of shootings, victims, and homicides in New York City decreased in 2024.

The five boroughs have seen a 7% decrease in shooting occurrences (874 vs. 938), a 4% decrease in victims (1,061 vs. 1,104), and a 7% decrease in homicides overall (357 vs. 385) compared to the previous year.

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