$50M Announced To Fund Prosecution Of Gun Violence In PA

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — State Sen. Steve Santarsiero on Monday afternoon announced $50 million in available state funding to investigate and prosecute gun violence crimes in Pennsylvania.

“This is an important win for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said Santarsiero. “It’s an important resource that is now available to our law enforcement agencies, our district attorneys and our police that will really make a difference in reducing the amount of gun violence and crime. It is an important step and we should be pleased that it has been done and we should be thankful that it has been passed. But there’s still more to be done on this issue and I’m hopeful that in the time remaining this year and in future sessions we’re going to be able to do just that.”

The funding, he said, can be used to improve and enhance federal, state and local law enforcement investigations and prosecutions involving firearms; support personnel costs related to those investigations and prosecutions with priority given to applications focusing on the important issue of straw purchases and firearms tracking; purchase technology systems, including gun shop detection technology; initiatives to support the tracing of firearms used to commit crimes; and any other effort to aid in the investigation and arrest and prosecution of a crime involving firearms.

The new grant program will be administered under the state’s Commission on Crime and Delinquency. A funding window is expected to open by the end of this month and the grants will be prioritized to areas experiencing high rates of gun violence.

Joining Santarsiero at the announcement, held at the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown, was David Keightly Jr., a deputy district attorney in Bucks who has spent the last decade focusing on gun violence and gun trafficking issues.

“We are one such agency which will be applying for as much as we can of our share of this new gun violence investigation and prosecution money,” said Keightly. “What we have begun to do and what we will continue to do with much more force and vigor going forward, especially with the assistance of this money, is that every time somebody gets a gun in Bucks County from someone who isn’t allowed to have it we want to keep track of it, trace it and find out how it got from the legal marketplace to the illegal marketplace whether it was through theft or an illegal sale. We want to find out.

“What we don’t want to do is just be satisfied with working backwards,” he added. “We want to be able to work forwards…. We want to be able to tackle this problem before the guns hit the streets,” he said.

“A lot of our needs right now are with manpower and with technology. We just don’t have the manpower to build large straw purchases cases like we want to. That is exactly what the grant money will be used for,” he said.

Philadelphia State Senator Vince Hughes, who chairs the Democratic Appropriations Committee, called the announcement “a good moment” in the fight against gun violence.

“The issue of gun violence has been a statewide problem. The truth of the matter is the fastest growth in gun violence is in our rural communities and places you would not normally expect that to be the conversation. So all of our colleagues came together and said we have to advance the
cause.

“This is the first time that state funding is coming in at this level to assist local prosecutors to do the work that they have to do to get the bad folks off the streets and get these guns out of circulation,” said Hughes.

“We’re giving local prosecutors the money they need to stop this, to stop this madness that is all across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he said. “$50 million dollars to prosecute gun infractions, to get the guns out of our communities and to make our communities safer.”

Bob Harvie, the chair of the Bucks County Commissioners, said no community in the nation is immune from gun violence. “Just this year our county has seen a couple horrific incidents involving gun violence including in what is the wealthiest community in our county.

“It is important to empower our law enforcement, our district attorneys to be able to prosecute people who commit these crimes whether it is purchasing guns and giving them to people who aren’t supposed to have them or using them in ways that do harm in the community.

“Speaking not just on behalf of the other commissioners but also as a gun owner I am thankful there are people in Harrisburg who recognize that there is a need and a way to create policies, to create programs that can keep our community safe while still respecting peoples’ rights.”

Bucks County mom Aileen Bochanski, a volunteer leader with CeaseFire PA, a gun violence prevention advocacy group, said she joined the movement over a “deep concern” over the safety of her children and their friends.

“For too long communities have faced a rise in gun violence without the resources necessary to intervene and to prevent it before a life is lost. This year’s budget continues a trend that started in 2021 investing in safer communities. Thank you Senators Santarsiero and Hughes for fighting for these resources in Harrisburg. Your efforts are saving lives.”

State Senator Jimmy Dillon of Philadelphia’s fifth district added his support for the funding and said he would be pushing for more legislative initiatives this fall.

“Each victim of gun violence is more than just a story on the news. They are family. They are friends. They are empty seats at the dinner table. They are loved ones who are forever missing.

“The people we serve call on us to find solutions that will safeguard their homes, their schools, their first responders and most importantly their lives. We have an obligation to fight for every Pennsylvanian who doesn’t want to live in fear,” said Dillon. “That’s why we invested $185
million in this year’s budget to empower law enforcement agencies to take on the gun violence epidemic.

“We all know funding alone won’t solve the problem,” he added. “We need to be creative and collaborative at all levels of government to get guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals. We should have a two fold game plan - strong, common sense gun laws like those proposed under Sen. Santarsiero’s assault weapons ban or Sen. Hughes’ legislation for universal background checks, combined with the ability to craft gun violence policy at the local level to meet the needs of our communities.”

Dillon called for the return of the Philadelphia Gun Court, which he said allowed prosecutors and the judiciary to effectively and efficiently handle illegal firearm possessions and other gun related cases.

“When we return to Harrisburg for the fall session I know we can continue to build on the programs we made with this budget and continue to pursue legislation that will save lives and keep our communities safe from the horror of gun violence,” said Dillon.