By Robert Harding
The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y.
CAYUGA COUNTY, N.Y. — Cayuga County law enforcement agencies will receive a slight increase in funding from a New York state program that aims to combat violent crime.
The Auburn Police Department, Cayuga County District Attorney’s Office, Cayuga County Probation Department and Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office will receive $372,034 through the state Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative, or GIVE. The state launched GIVE to combat gun violence and violent crime in select cities and counties.
Auburn police will get roughly half of the allocation ($182,517), up from $157,500 in 2024. The district attorney’s office has been awarded $82,197, which is down from $107,155 last year. Auburn Police Chief Matthew Androsko and Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci explained that community engagement funds that were given to the DA’s office have been redirected to the department.
“We plan on adding more community events and presentations this year,” Androsko wrote in an email to The Citizen.
The Cayuga County Probation Department will get $80,320, while the sheriff’s office will receive $27,000. Undersheriff Stuart Peenstra told The Citizen the funding will supplement the Auburn Police Department’s efforts.
Tyrone Thomas, the county’s probation director, did not respond to a question about how his agency will use the funding.
The Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative is administered by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. According to the program’s website, it provides funding for law enforcement agencies for equipment, personnel, overtime costs and training.
In the first six months of 2024 and 2025, the Auburn Police Department did not report any deaths or injuries due to gun violence. The agency also reported a 28% decrease, from 111 to 80, in the number of index crimes during the first quarter of this year compared to 2024.
Index crimes include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
The Auburn Police Department has used the GIVE funding to focus on “hot spot” crime areas in the city and to have officers who respond to violent crime complaints. Androsko told The Citizen that will continue “as it has been quite successful for us and our community, and has been brought up at other state seminars showing how successful we are with our (Violent Offender Identification Directive) list.”
Antonacci provided a breakdown of how the district attorney’s office will use the GIVE funding. A bulk of the award ($70,939) will cover at least portions of salaries for a grant program coordinator, part-time community accountability coordinator and a victim/witness coordinator.
The grant program coordinator, Antonacci explained, coordinates GIVE activities, including assisting with data collection. The community accountability coordinator works with the local Community Accountability Board, which provides alternatives to prosecution for nonviolent offenders ages 18 to 25.
A smaller portion of the GIVE grant ($4,758) will help cover benefits for the grant program coordinator and community accountability coordinator. The remaining funds will cover costs associated with travel for training seminars ($3,000) and community engagement ($2,500).
Statewide, more than $36 million has been awarded to local law enforcement agencies.
“My top priority is public safety, and since taking office, my administration has been laser-focused on working with local law enforcement to drive down gun violence across New York communities,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. " New York’s GIVE initiative is a crucial part of our comprehensive plan to reduce shootings and firearm-related violence crime — and it’s working.”
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