Keeping New Yorkers Safe: Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Strengthen Public Safety and Make Our Streets and Subways Safer

Governor Kathy Hochul today signed legislation as part of the FY27 Enacted Budget to strengthen public safety across New York. Highlights of Governor Hochul's public safety budget priorities include cracking down on the scourge of illegal 3D-printed ghost guns and DIY machine guns, investing in new crime-fighting technology, supporting law enforcement officers and first responders, safeguarding New York's roads and subways, enhancing its emergency preparedness response systems, and protecting New Yorkers' religious freedom and safety.

"Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority which is why I'm proud to deliver record investments in law enforcement to crack down on crime, strengthen critical protections for New Yorkers and keep communities across our state safe from harm," Governor Hochul said. "Since taking office, we've made significant progress driving down crime, and with this budget, we continue to bolster those efforts to prevent violence and keep New York's families safe."

Since taking office, Governor Hochul has invested more than $3 billion in public safety initiatives. The funding has provided record support for local and state law enforcement that has contributed to gun violence reaching record lows, reduced subway crime and combatted pandemic-era surges in motor vehicle and retail thefts. This budget adds more than $900 million to those record investments. These efforts, along with common-sense changes to the state's bail, discovery and gun laws that Governor Hochul obtained in previous state budgets, have helped make New York one of the safest large states in the country.

Stopping Illegal Homegrown Guns

Governor Hochul has passed the strongest gun laws in the nation and made record investments in gun violence prevention, resulting in New York having the fewest shooting incidents statewide in 2025 in recorded history. To build on this progress, Governor Hochul's FY27 Enacted Budget will:

• Require first-in-the-nation minimum safety standards for 3D printers sold in New York to be equipped with basic technology that prevents the unlicensed, illegal production of lethal firearms and firearm parts.
• Require the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services to lead a task force of experts to recommend regulations that will ensure New Yorkers are protected from these dangerous weapons. Following the implementation of the resulting regulations, state law will allow for recourse against any actor who sells a 3D printer in New York without equipping it with such technology.
• Criminalize the unlawful possession, sale, or distribution of blueprints that allow the printing of illegal guns and gun parts, and the manufacture of 3D-printed firearms.
• Require all pistols sold in the state to private citizens be designed in such a way that ensures they cannot quickly and easily be turned into machine guns using common tools.

Prioritizing Safety on the Subway

Subway crime reached its lowest level in 16 years in 2025, with a 14 percent reduction in major crimes in the transit system compared to 2019. Lower crime and higher ridership are the result of the hard work of dedicated police officers supported by Governor Hochul's proactive investments in policing and mental health engagement strategies that promote order and public safety throughout the system. To ensure continued progress on subway safety, Governor Hochul:

• Secured an additional $77 million to support the deployment of NYPD officers across the subway system to target areas of greatest need and to enhance rider safety.
• Is expanding the Subway Co-Response Outreach Teams initiative, known as SCOUT, by 50 percent from 10 to 15, to reach more locations and operate with greater flexibility across the system. This will allow teams to respond more quickly to individuals in acute distress and focus resources where needs are greatest.

Protecting Safe Access to Worship

Governor Hochul signed protections into law to protect individuals' access to places of worship. The Governor's bill creates a new crime for knowingly and intentionally interfering with a person seeking to enter or exit a place of religious worship or acting in a way within 50 feet of a place of worship that makes a person seeking to access a place of religious worship fear for their safety. The law balances the freedom of speech with the freedom to worship without harassment. Under this law, when there is a demonstration, police may set up a security perimeter beyond 50 feet, within which demonstrations are not permitted.

Combating Crime and Ensuring Justice

Governor Hochul's FY27 Enacted Budget continues investments to support effective policing, combat crime, and ensure justice for victims and survivors. This year's budget will help New York achieve these goals by:

• Establishing a new Crime Analysis Center in Westchester County to complete statewide coverage of New York's Crime Analysis Center Network. This center will provide local and regional law enforcement with real-time crime analysis, investigative support, and stronger information sharing with counties and State partners.
• Investing in crime labs across the state, supporting upgrades to DNA and drug analysis technology, expanding forensic staffing, and strengthening statewide standards through accreditation and proficiency testing to ensure cases move forward efficiently and survivors are not left waiting years for resolution.
• Strengthening police training by developing an accreditation program to ensure all agencies have equal access to standardized information around best practices that help provide high-quality instruction, particularly for smaller and underserved departments.
• Passing nation-leading paid critical incident leave legislation for State Police members directly involved in justified qualifying uses of force to ensure Troopers have the time and support needed to recover, fully cooperate with investigations, and safely return to duty. Eligible Troopers will receive 20 days of critical incident leave if the incident involved death and 10 days for all other critical incidents.
• Closing a loophole that allowed orders of protection - which can include stay-away provisions, no-contact requirements, and firearm surrender obligations - to lose their enforceability when defendants fail to appear in court. Now, courts will be required to automatically extend an order of protection when a defendant does not return to court, allowing the State to better protect victims and prevent dangerous gaps in enforcement.
• Developing a new technical assistance initiative to support fiscally at-risk and survivor-led victim assistance programs. Participating organizations will be able to request targeted assistance, including financial management support, compliance guidance, and organizational planning, to stabilize programs, improve long-term sustainability, and increase access to victim services statewide.
• Promoting awareness of victim compensation and related services, so survivors know help is available when they need it most, regardless of having reported the crime to law enforcement. Together, these improvements will help victims access financial support more quickly, reduce stress during recovery, and strengthen trust in the services designed to support them.

Safeguarding New York's Roads

To reduce risks and make New York's roadways safer, Governor Hochul's FY27 Enacted budget includes:

• Authorization for New York City to establish a pilot program requiring the installation of Intelligent Speed Assistance devices in the vehicles of so-called "super speeders" - drivers with a documented pattern of flouting speeding laws and putting New Yorkers at risk. The pilot will directly target this dangerous driving behavior by preventing these drivers from driving over the posted speed limit, helping to avert tragedies before they happen and making city streets safer for everyone. Based on the results from this pilot initiative, New York will explore allowing other interested communities around the state to opt into an Intelligent Speed Assistance program.
• Legislation to expand the use of automated work zone speed enforcement systems to additional State roadways, increasing eligible State DOT roadway miles by more than 40%.
• Authorization to establish Traffic Camera Violation Bureaus in jurisdictions with stop-arm camera programs that will help ensure the timely processing of tickets for motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses and ensure drivers who endanger children by passing school buses with the stop-arm out are held accountable.

Improving Emergency and Disaster Response

Governor Hochul continues to expand New York's capabilities to prepare and respond to emergencies and threats, and provide higher standards of care for the first responders who step up when New York needs them most. The FY27 Enacted Budget includes new measures that will:

• Strengthen the State's readiness for mass violence events by directing a statewide training initiative to equip community-based Victim Assistance Programs with the skills needed to respond effectively to large-scale incidents. Governor Hochul has also directed the Mass Violence Advisory Council to establish shared response protocols that clarify roles and streamline support.
• Establish a new Urban Search and Rescue capability through a partnership between the Office of Fire Prevention and Control at the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) and local first responders. The team will meet the federal Type 1 Urban Search and Rescue standard, allowing it to deploy quickly and sustain large-scale rescue operations during major disasters, and expand access to advanced rescue capabilities that are currently concentrated in New York City.
• Advance a comprehensive approach to both prohibit risky drone use and expand responsible use of drones as first responders by creating a crime for dangerous drone use and flying in and around restricted areas, and authorizing the use of detection and mitigation efforts by qualified law enforcement officers. This approach will also further limit where drones may fly, expand law enforcement authority to respond to credible drone threats and support safe testing of counter-drone technologies.
• Establishing a First Responder Behavioral Health Center of Excellence to serve as a statewide training and technical assistance hub to break down barriers to care and ensure that people who protect our communities have the mental health and addiction resources they need to stay safe and healthy on the job.

Governor Hochul's Public Safety Record

During her time in office, Governor Hochul has made public safety her top priority, championing a number of key initiatives including:

• Signing landmark gun safety laws: strengthening New York's Red Flag law, increasing the protections of the background check system, tightening restrictions on concealed carry weapons, codifying the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in state law, and cracking down on illegal firearms.
• Achieving a 60 percent decline in shooting incidents with injury in communities participating in the state's Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative, with shooting incidents reaching the lowest level on record and resulting in the removal of more than 10,000 illegal guns from New York streets.
• Delivering historic subway safety investments, driving down transit crime below pre-pandemic levels and to the second-lowest level in recorded history.
• Strengthening New York's bail and discovery laws to keep dangerous criminals off our streets while better protecting victims.
• Taking decisive action against retail theft, expanding worker protections, adding new criminal charges that target organized retail theft rings, and providing security funding for small businesses; as of December 2025, retail theft is down 14 percent year-over-year in New York City.
• Responding to the rise in hate crimes by expanding hate crime-eligible offenses and securing funding to protect at-risk sites.

Together, these efforts reflect Governor Hochul's vision of a safer, stronger and more secure state for all New Yorkers.