ROCHESTER, N.Y. — New York State is seeing the lowest levels of gun violence in at least 20 years, according to a report released by the governor’s office on Thursday.

Data shows that Rochester is among the top contributors to these lowering numbers. Local leaders are also reporting a dip in shootings in Rochester.

The state tracked deadly and non-deadly shootings from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 of this year and last year. Rochester saw 26% fewer shootings in that period this year compared to last year.

The state says this is the largest decline since Rochester started tracking shootings back in 2006. But one snapshot doesn’t show the full picture.

The Rochester Police Department also uses a rolling 365-day average and some other tools. Any way you cut it up though, violent crime is down in the area to pre-pandemic levels, which is when things skyrocketed. City leaders say their work is not done.

“No level of gun violence is acceptable. And that’s why we have the State of Emergency. We want to dramatize and highlight that it’s unacceptable, no level,” Mayor Malik Evans said.

The city’s Gun Violence State of Emergency has been in effect since July of 2022 and gives the mayor extra power to, for example, shut down streets or businesses in the name of public safety.

Both the state and the city point to increased support and more funding for local police departments as a catalyst for this change. Mayor Evans and RPD leaders often say you can’t arrest your way out of violent crime and must also focus on preventing crime.

Here at the local level, local partnerships and other initiatives to engage young people also likely play a big part. In Rochester, to date, we’ve had 132 reported shootings. In that same period last year, it was 209.