Syracuse Police Department to spend $1.33 million DCJS grant for violence-reduction programs

The Syracuse Police Department asked the Common Council to approve spending a $1,330,504 grant from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for 2025 gun-violence reduction efforts.

First Deputy Chief Rich Shaw told councilors the award comes from DCJS for a “gun involved violence elimination / GIVE” program and would cover staff and program costs including an anti-violence coordinator, non-fatal shooting specialists, hot-spot policing, community power walks, CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) work, youth trust-building and Police-and-Me initiatives. Shaw said, "There's no local match required." He also said the grant covers the 2025 year and the department had earlier sought permission to apply for the funding.

The council discussion confirmed the award is for a single fiscal year and that the department will use the money for salary and programmatic expenses identified in the DCJS agreement. No formal vote on the spending authorization is recorded in the meeting transcript; Shaw asked the council for permission to spend the funds.

Councilors asked clarifying questions about the grant term and prior staffing; Shaw identified the anti-violence coordinator as a continuing position his department has worked with in previous years and said the current award covers the coming year only.

The presentation did not include a line-item budget in the meeting record. Councilors and staff indicated they would proceed with the grant agreement and associated paperwork outside the public discussion.