In the wake of recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, national attention has turned to “red flag” laws which allow authorities and family members to temporarily seize firearms from people who may pose a danger to themselves or others.

But in Ulster County, records show that New York’s nearly three-year-old red flag statute remains a rarely used tool despite an explosion in suicide rates and an increase in violent crime during the pandemic.

New York’s red flag law allows police, district attorneys, school officials and family members to seek an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) to remove firearms from anyone deemed a danger to themselves and others as defined in state Mental Hygiene law. To get an ERPO, applicants must file a request in state Supreme Court. If a judge believes there is probable cause that the subject of the order poses a threat, they can immediately issue a temporary order allowing police to seize any firearms.

The law gives judges three to 10 days to schedule a hearing at which the subject can present evidence and make arguments against the ERPO. If the judge rules that the subject does not meet the criteria for the protective order, the guns are returned. Alternatively, the judge may issue a final protective order that allows authorities to maintain custody of the guns for up to one year and bars the subject from buying new ones.

But records maintained by the state Office of Court Administration indicate that red flag laws are rarely invoked locally or statewide. Between Aug. 25, 2019, when the law went into effect and June 13 of this year, just 18 temporary and eight final ERPOs were issued by local state Supreme Court judges. Numbers are similarly low in Orange County where judges have issued 24 temporary and 10 final protective orders, and Dutchess where 33 temporary and 13 final orders have been issued since the law took effect.

Even in the state’s most populous counties, final protective orders remain relatively rare. One notable exception is Long Island’s Suffolk County where authorities have made a concerted effort to utilize the red flag law, leading to 120 final ERPOs being issued there since 2019.

“It’s a tool that we have at our disposal, but honestly it hasn’t come up,” said Kingston Police Chief Egidio Tinti, who could not immediately recall a single instance of the department seeking an ERPO. “It’s something we would definitely use in the appropriate circumstances, but we just haven’t seen that.”

Sheriff Juan Figueroa said he believes part of the issue is a lack of training and awareness among local law enforcement. Figueroa said his office recently provided assistance to another local law enforcement agency that sought to remove firearms from a subject dealing with a “mental health issue” but were unsure how to proceed.

“We get calls from other agencies for help because they don’t have the paperwork or they don’t know the procedure and we assist them with that,” said Figueroa. “It’s a relatively new law and it’s going to take time for everyone to get up to speed on it.”

Ulster County District Attorney Dave Clegg, meanwhile, said his office routinely seeks to remove firearms from anybody charged with a domestic violence crime. But, he added, his office typically only becomes involved in a case until after a crime had been committed.

“I think it’s a great idea, but [the DA’s Office] typically gets involved pretty late in the day,” said Clegg. “But it’s an important tool when you have people who may be headed in a dangerous direction because of mental health or hate or what have you.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers have moved to tighten up the red flag law following the Tops Supermarket massacre in Buffalo in which the suspect was able to legally purchase an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle despite having been investigated over threats of violence at his school. Speaking at a press conference with Attorney General Letitia James to announce the takedown of a heavily armed drug trafficking ring, Assemblyman Kevin Cahill touted a recently enacted amendment to the red flag law that he said would “fix” loopholes that might have prevented the shooter from legally obtaining or possessing a firearm. Among the changes, the amendment makes members of law enforcement mandatory reporters required to seek an ERPO anytime they suspect a subject may pose a danger to themselves or others. The law also directs the state police to develop a training program and lead efforts to spread awareness about the law to police agencies statewide.

“We’ve taken [away] the fear of overstepping that law enforcement had been experiencing, that we have seen in the news [about the buffalo massacre]” said Cahill.

Critically, the amendment adds mental health providers to the list of people eligible to file for an ERPO. At Ulster County’s Department of Mental Health, Commissioner Tara McDonald said the new provisions are a welcome addition to the agency’s efforts to combat suicide. Previously, mental health professionals concerned that a patient with firearms might be at risk of harm to themselves or others had to rely on a provision in the 2013 SAFE Act that allowed them to share their concerns with the county mental health department. The department in turn would pass the information on the state Department of Criminal Justice where the reports would be vetted for potential further action under state Mental Hygiene Law.

“As a clinician you would never really know what happened, it was just, ‘I reported it, now what,’” said McDonald. “Now they can see that process through from beginning to end.”

McDonald said her office recently received guidance on how to use the law and would use a number of collaborative channels to share the information with local mental health care providers.

“It is definitely our feeling that this is a positive development,” said McDonald of the changes in the red flag law. “We have a partnership between the civil legal system and mental health providers to keep people in our community safe.”