Illegal gun seizures spike in Nassau, officials say

Illegal gun seizures spiked nearly 29% in Nassau last year compared to 2020, with almost 40% of those arrested residing outside of the county, Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said Monday.

Nassau police seized 117 illegal weapons in 2021, up from 91 one year earlier, Ryder said at a news conference in Mineola with newly sworn-in County Executive Bruce Blakeman as they displayed dozens of confiscated firearms.

The weapons include eight stolen firearms and 10 "ghost guns" — untraceable weapons built from kits or individual parts and sold without background checks or serial numbers.

Almost two-thirds of gun seizures last year were from precincts bordering New York City — the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth precincts — while 38% of those arrested did not reside in Nassau, Ryder said. And 63% of the seized weapons, Ryder said, were found during routine traffic stops.

A dozen seized firearms — or about 10% of the guns taken by Nassau police — were from individuals who were arrested and then released without bail, police said. Details of those cases were not released.

"The madness has got to stop," Ryder said, criticizing the state legislature's bail reform measures, which last year eliminated bail on most misdemeanors and nonviolent crimes.

Ryder said major crimes in Nassau ticked up 5% in 2021 compared to 2020. In July, however, the commissioner held a news conference touting the county's double-digit percentage decreases in homicides, grand larcenies, burglaries and stolen vehicles during the first half of 2021 compared to that same period in 2020.

The department did not provide complete details on 2021 crime statistics.

Republicans argue that bail reform fueled the crime increase, even as state statistics show only a small percentage of defendants released without bail commit another crime.

County statistics show that even without the guns taken from individuals released without bail, illegal weapons seizures would have increased more than 15% from 2020.

Nonetheless, Blakeman, a Republican, plans to travel to Albany Tuesday to lobby state lawmakers to repeal the bail reform law, contending it infringes on the discretion of the judiciary.

"The reality is criminals have more rights in New York State than victims," he said. "It's got to end."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.