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Mayor Brown / BPD Announce Chippewa Entertainment District Public Safety Plan

Mayor Reiterates Zero Tolerance of Criminal Conduct

BUFFALO – Mayor Byron W. Brown and Buffalo Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson today discussed aspects of the city's commitment to maintaining public safety in the Buffalo's downtown entertainment district, as well as elsewhere in the city.

"The recent violent behavior in the Chippewa Entertainment District is unacceptable and I will not tolerate anyone who resorts to violence here or anywhere else in the City of Buffalo," said Mayor Brown. "We will utilize every resource available to us, including the future deployment of 100 new Buffalo police officers, to ensure the safety of residents, business owners and visitors. Our response is consistent with my Administration's long established Zero Tolerance Public Safety policy, which targets criminal activity in any section of Buffalo and has contributed to a 6% drop in crime in the city over the past two years."

The Chippewa Entertainment District Public Safety Plan includes the deployment of the Buffalo Police Department's highly successful Mobile Response Unit, the utilization of the Department's new mobile surveillance security camera and the continuing monitoring and investigation of area businesses for compliance with city ordinances and state laws.

"We have thoroughly reviewed our operational plans concerning the downtown entertainment district and we've decided to increase our police presence to even a greater degree," said Commissioner Gipson. "That includes the addition of the mobile surveillance camera, the mobile command center and other initiatives that we're not at liberty to discuss for investigative reasons. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety and security of anyone visiting our downtown."

This activity is consistent with other multi-departmental actions that have taken place over the past two years including the expanded nationally award-winning Save Our Streets Task Force neighborhood "Clean Sweeps" and Mayor Brown's Working Against Violent Events effort that led to the September 2007 arrest of a suspected gunman responsible for two homicides on Buffalo's East Side.

"As I have stated repeatedly, I will not tolerate criminal activity anywhere in Buffalo," said Mayor Brown. "Whether it takes place in a city residential neighborhood where law abiding city residents have the right to live their lives in peace and comfort or in our city's Entertainment District, where city residents and visitors can come and expect to enjoy a night out without any concern for their personal safety. This is not a band-aid response to any specific incident. This is a reminder that the professional men and women of our Buffalo Police Department and other city agencies will perform their duties to the best of their ability and they will continue their excellent service on behalf of city residents, business owners and visitors."

Violent crime continues to decrease in the City of Buffalo. Through December, all four categories of violent crime – Homicide, Rape, Robbery and Assault – are down by 12% collectively versus the same time period in 2006.

The city's new 100 high-tech surveillance camera system and the Police Department's new police class, which will add approximately 100 new police officers to the Department by July 2008, will strengthen the Department's other ongoing anti-crime initiatives, including the ongoing and successful Mobile Response Unit, which is a specialized anti-crime unit that targets areas of high crime, illegal guns, gang activity and drug trafficking throughout Buffalo.

Since it began operations in January 2007, the MRU has made 2,638 arrests, issued 5,998 summonses, impounded 655 vehicles, seized $191,433 in cash and removed 165 illegal weapons from the streets.

The number of guns seized by the MRU is in addition to the 878 illegal guns that were removed from Buffalo streets in one day in June 2007 during the City's No Questions Asked Gun Buyback effort.