By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The City of Buffalo announced Friday the formation of a special police department unit that is cracking down on gangs, drugs and guns.
Operation Strike Force has been underway in some of the toughest neighborhoods in Buffalo since August 14th. Mayor Byron Brown and City Police Commissioner McCarthy Gipson met with reporters to outline this latest effort that focuses on violent crimes occurring in Buffalo. The mission of Operation Strike Force is to identify and target gang members and target and eliminate high crime areas.
Gipson says the department examines a high crime spots in the City, then the unit zones in. He says it will move from district to district. The effort started in the Broadway Fillmore area.
Mayor Brown says no overtime has been associated with this new effort. Flex officers are rotated from the City's five police districts. Brown says the criminal element in the city will be uncovered.
In just one month, police confiscated 28 guns of the streets and made more than 500 arrests.
Leaders say Operation Strike Force has already had a tremendous impact on crime especially gang related activity in the city.