Gun seizures in New York are soaring a year after 'extreme risk' law broadened

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ALBANY — The number of firearms being seized by police from individuals found to be “likely” at risk of harm to themselves or others has soared so much in the past year that evidence rooms in some State Police barracks have had to be reconfigured or expanded to store the weapons.

The increase follows an executive order issued last year by Gov. Kathy Hochul that mandated troopers file court applications for “extreme risk protection orders” whenever they encounter a person who is believed to be a danger and in possession of a firearm. 

The “Red Flag Law” was enacted in 2019, but last year Hochul also signed into law several measures that expanded who may file an “ERPO” petition to include health care practitioners who have examined an individual within the last six months. The law change also requires police and district attorneys to file extreme risk protection orders when they have “credible information” that someone is likely to engage in conduct that could result in serious harm.

In 2020, judges issued protection orders against 255 people across New York. This year, in just over four months, the number of individuals subjected to emergency or temporary risk protection orders topped 2,120. And between 2020 and last November, State Police had seized 2,521 firearms under emergency protection orders — a figure that does not include seizures made by more than 150 other New York police agencies

More here --->    https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/gun-seizures-ny-soaring-year-extreme-risk-law-17916948.php#:~:text=ALBANY — The number of firearms,expanded to store the weapons