New Jersey reports double-digit drop in number of shooting victims

Admitting there is no “magic fix” for ending gun violence, officials credited the “holistic” approach to addressing the problem, including stricter gun laws and working with “violence interrupters.”

“It’s a clear indication that when we treat gun violence like a public health crisis and take a comprehensive approach to tackling it we can save lives,” said state Attorney General Matt Platkin.

Shootings are trending downward across the country, according to Joseph Giacalone, a retired sergeant with the New York City Police Department, and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

“To say that we have taken a respite from the increases over the last couple years is always a good thing,” he said, adding that it’s “interesting” that the number of shooting victims is being used as a metric.

Giacalone explained that it is not a good metric to measure crime because the number of victims could vary, unlike incidents.

“Sometimes you have situations where more than one victim and sometimes several can be shot at once,” he said. “If they’re going to use that metric, and God forbid something really terrible happens, they’re going to look awful next year.”