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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Chris Collins stated on August 2, 2017 in an op-ed for The Buffalo News: \"Violent crimes where a firearm is used have remained static since 2013 in both New York State and Erie County\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-false/6a6ef6075c162fdccf5eb960e683dcd1.jpg.\\") ![\\"barely- true\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * New York * Guns * Chris Collins ![\\'Rep.](\\" collins-RNC_FIX/f072bbc9c9162f36a66faca5fb8d4270.jpg\\") Rep. Chris Collins claimed violent crime with a firearm has remained \"static\" since 2013 statewide and in Erie County. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News) By Dan Clark August 11, 2017 # How has gun crime changed since the SAFE Act? Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence, says some of New York state’s gun control laws should be scrapped. The 2013 Secure Ammunition and Firearm Enforcement Act was supposed to reduce gun violence in New York. Collins says there’s no evidence that’s happened. \"Statistics show that violent crimes where a firearm is used have remained static since 2013 in both New York State and Erie County,\" Collins said in an op-ed in The Buffalo News. Collins is sponsoring federal legislation to reverse parts of the SAFE Act that regulate rifles and shotguns. He says the law has been an unnecessary burden for gun owners across upstate New York. But is he right that the number of violent crimes with a firearm has been unchanged since 2013? Statewide data For the state as a whole, the numbers don\'t back up Collins\' claim. In 2016, there were 10,007 violent crimes with a firearm reported to police, according to data from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. In 2013, there were 12,235. The percentage of violent crimes with a firearm also fell from 16 percent in 2013 to 13.5 percent in 2016. Looked at another way, the number of firearm-related violent crimes per New York state resident also has declined. There were 62 firearm-related violent crimes reported for every 100,000 residents in 2013, compared with 50 for every 100,000 residents by 2016. The number of firearm-related violent crimes has decreased statewide each year since 2012, the first year New York City was included in the data. The number was already going down outside New York City before the SAFE Act in 2013. There were 5,340 violent firearm crimes reported to police outside New York City in 2008 — the most in the last decade. The count has only increased twice since, in 2012 and 2016. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on September 4, 2024 in an X post “BREAKING: Apalachee High School shooter has been identified as non-binary trans girl Samantha Hyde.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"pants- fire\\"](\\" By Loreben Tuquero • September 5, 2024 Erie County data In Erie County, the trend is different. Violent crimes with a firearm have been on the rise. Police in Erie County reported 1,154 violent crimes with a firearm in 2016 — more than any other county upstate. That’s up from 1,092 in 2013. The rate of firearm-related violent crimes has also increased, from 118 of those crimes for every 100,000 Erie County residents in 2013 to 125 in 2016. Collins’s view A spokesperson for Collins said he based his claim on an article from WKBW, a Buffalo news station. \"The SAFE Act has done little to keep Western New Yorkers safe and has taken away the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens,\" Collins spokesperson Sarah Minkel said in a statement responding to our findings. WKBW used the same data we did and presented the same results, though the article notes there have been \"no major changes in crime rate\" since 2013. Our ruling Collins said \"statistics show that violent crimes where a firearm is used have remained static since 2013 in both New York State and Erie County.\" Statistics tell a different story. Violent crimes with a firearm have decreased statewide since 2013 and increased in Erie County. But correlation does not equal causation. Trends show violent crime with a firearm was already going down statewide before the SAFE Act. We rate his statement Mostly False. Share the Facts 2017-08-11 20:24:11 UTC PolitiFact ![\\"PolitiFact\\"](\\" logo-big.jpg\\"/) 3 1 7 ![\\"PolitiFact](\\" mostlyfalse.jpg\\") PolitiFact Rating: Mostly False \"Violent crimes where a firearm is used have remained static since 2013 in both New York State and Erie County\" Chris Collins Congressmember ![](\\" New York Wednesday, August 2, 2017 2017-08-02 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources \"Another Voice: Rep. Chris Collins on why he wants to repeal the SAFE Act\", Rep. Chris Collins in The Buffalo News, Aug. 2, 2017 Email conversation with press staff from Rep. Chris Collins’s office \"Is the New York SAFE Act working?\" WKBW, July 31, 2017 County data on violent crime obtained using the DCJS Open Data Portal, Aug. 9, 2017 Statewide data obtained from the Division of Criminal Justice Services New York City 2016 data obtained from the Division of Criminal Justice Services Statewide population data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Dan Clark ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on May 30, 2018 in a tweet: Rep. Dan Donovan \"voted for Tax Cuts\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Dan Clark • June 4, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Christine Quinn stated on May 23, 2018 in a presentation at the State Democratic Convention: New York state has the \"second highest millionaires tax in the nation.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Dan Clark • May 31, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on May 10, 2018 in a tweet: \"Senator Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fought hard against the Bad Iran Deal, even going at it with President Obama, & then Voted AGAINST it! Now he says I should not have terminated the deal\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Dan Clark • May 24, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Edward Cox stated on May 1, 2018 in an interview on The Capital Pressroom: Marc Molinaro \"has cut taxes, his budget now is lower than it was six years ago\" in Dutchess County ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Dan Clark • May 24, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Hakeem Jeffries stated on April 29, 2018 in an interview on CNN: President Donald Trump’s budget \"threatened to cut $2 trillion from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Dan Clark • May 4, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Chele Farley stated on April 23, 2018 in an interview on Capital Tonight: \"Kirsten Gillibrand has put forward 331 bills since she\'s been in Congress. Do you know how many of them have been passed into law? Zero!\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Dan Clark • May 4, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" James Tedisco stated on April 13, 2018 in a blog post : After the minimum wage for tipped workers was raised in Maine, the state \"reversed that decision due to restaurant employees organizing en masse against the measure.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Dan Clark • April 26, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kirsten Gillibrand stated on April 20, 2018 in a tweet: \"Black and Latino people in NYC are arrested at TEN times the rate of white people for virtually the same rate of marijuana usage.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Dan Clark • April 25, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Andrew Cuomo stated on April 11, 2018 in a conversation with reporters: \"I think we\'re actually ahead\" on legalizing marijuana for recreational use in New York state. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Dan Clark • April 17, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Marc Molinaro stated on April 2, 2018 in a conversation with reporters: New York has \"among the highest tax burdens of any state in the nation\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Dan Clark • April 12, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Brian Kolb stated on March 31, 2018 in a statement on the state budget: This year’s state budget \"continues to direct millions in taxpayer dollars in advertising to the failing Start-Up NY program\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Dan Clark • April 9, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Cynthia Nixon stated on March 26, 2018 in a press conference: Four years after Gov. 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Violent crimes where a firearm is used have remained static since 2013 in both New York State and Erie County