New law in effect that enhances New York ‘Red Flag’ safeguards

ALBANY, NY- Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a new law, designed to enhance safeguards afforded by the State’s Red Flag Law, is now effective.

Under this new law, courts across New York State must now notify the statewide registry of orders of protection and warrants when judges issue a temporary and/or final extreme risk order of protection.

This notification codifies what courts were doing in practice and aims to ensure that these orders don’t fall through the cracks, the Governor's Office says.

“Public safety is my number one priority — that’s why I signed legislation strengthening our Red Flag Laws to keep weapons away from individuals who are a risk to themselves and others,” Governor Hochul said.

“By empowering law enforcement and judges to take action, we’re getting guns off our streets and making our communities safer.”

For context, officials say that courts statewide have ordered nearly 14,000 temporary and permanent Extreme Risk Protection Orders through February 3, 2025 — more than 12 times the number of orders issued before Governor Hochul took action to strengthen State law following the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo during the spring of 2022.

From August 25, 2019, through December 31, 2019, courts across the State ordered 148 temporary or permanent orders.

Those numbers less than doubled for the 2020 (252 ERPOs) and 2021 (286 ERPOs) calendar years.

Extreme Risk Order of Protection (ERPO's) issued by courts increased nearly tenfold after the Governor and Legislature acted in 2022, with 2,363 orders issued that year.

In 2024 alone, the number of ERPOs issued statewide totaled 5,357.

The Governor’s FY26 Executive Budget includes $370 million to continue the State’s multifaceted approach to reducing shootings and saving lives. That funding supports local and State law enforcement initiatives, youth employment programs and nonprofit organizations that serve and support individuals and families, and strengthen communities, including but not limited to:

• $50 million through the Law Enforcement Technology grant program, which provides funding so police departments and sheriffs’ offices can purchase new equipment and technology to modernize their operations and more effectively solve and prevent crime.
• $36 million for GIVE, which funds the 28 police departments and district attorneys’ offices, probation departments, and sheriffs’ offices in 21 counties outside of New York City.
• $21 million for the SNUG Street Outreach Program, which operates in 14 communities across the State: Albany, the Bronx, Buffalo, Hempstead, Mount Vernon, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, Wyandanch and Yonkers. The program uses a public health approach to address gun violence by identifying the source, interrupting transmission, and treating individuals, families and communities affected by the violence.
• $18 million in continued support for the State’s unique, nationally recognized Crime Analysis Center Network, and $13 million in new funding to establish the New York State Crime Analysis and Joint Special Operations Command Headquarters, a strategic information, technical assistance and training hub for 11 Centers in the State’s network, and enhance existing partnerships and expand information sharing with the New York State Intelligence Center operated by the State Police, the locally run Nassau County Lead Development Center, and the State’s Joint Security Operations Center, which focuses on protecting the State from cyber threats.

At the same time, the Governor’s FY26 Executive Budget proposal recognizes the equal importance of expanding services to victims and survivors of crime. Among the Governor’s proposals to increase support provided by the State Office of Victim Services are to:

• Create a Mass Violence Crisis Response Team to ensure rapid, coordinated support that addresses the immediate needs of victims, survivors and communities in the aftermath of such events.
• Increase existing limits on crime victim compensation for the cost of burial and funeral expenses from $6,000 to $12,000.
• Eliminate the requirement to consider contributing conduct in death claims, which currently can reduce the amount of money OVS can provide for burial expenses, as well as other crime-related costs, including counseling, loss of support, and other assistance family members may need following a loved one’s death.
• Expand eligibility for access to funding to pay for crime scene cleanup costs.

Image via the office of New York Governor Kathy Hochul.