Tomberg, Kathleen A., Rebecca Balletto, Gina Moreno, Sheyla A. Delgado, Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill, Patricia Cobar and Jeffrey A. Butts (2026). Responding to Firearm Possession Charges in New York City: Initial Findings from the Multimethod Evaluation of the Bronx Osborne Gun Accountability and Prevention Program (BOGAP). New York, NY: Research and Evaluation Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Sections
Introduction — Research Methods — Development of the Program — Participants and Program Components — Program Effects — Discussion and Conclusion — References
Development of BOGAP
Despite declining crime rates in New York City and many other communities, gun violence continues to be a significant issue for jurisdictions across the United States. Shooting incidents declined 50 percent between 2010 and the first quarter of 2026, according to data compiled by the New York City Police Department. New York State generally has strict laws governing the possession of firearms. In 2026, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, New York had the fourth strongest gun laws of all states in the nation, with the fourth lowest rate of gun deaths per 100,000 population.
Gun crime fell in the Bronx in recent years, although it continues to account for a disproportionately high share of the New York City total. Between 2001 and 2025, the number of murders in the Bronx fell 47 percent from 190 to 101, resulting in a homicide rate of 7.2 murders per 100,000 population for 2025. The homicide rate in Brooklyn that year was 3.6 per 100,000, while the rate in Manhattan was 3.2, and Queens experienced a rate of 2.4 per 100,000. Similarly, the rate of shootings per 100,000 population in the Bronx fell by half, from 34.1 in the year 2000 to 17.0 per 100,000 in 2025 (Figure 2).
Standard sentences for gun-possession charges in New York are often two years in state prison followed by two years of post-release supervision. The Bronx DA wanted additional alternatives that would be more holistic, taking a person’s circumstances into account while still focusing on deterrence and prevention. In examining the flow of simple possession cases (e.g., possession of a firearm without using the firearm), the DA noticed that many defendants in such cases were young, first-time felony offenders with a lot of violence-related trauma in their lives who said they carried the gun for self-defense. The office noted that few interventions or treatment opportunities were available for individuals in these cases. Rather than continue prosecuting such cases and accepting standard sentences, the office sought to address the underlying causes of gun possession and address them with preventive services.
Notes: Shooting data from the Vital City Data Explorer. Shooting incidents are defined as firearm discharge resulting in a person being struck or injured. Population data are from the New York State Office of Information Technology.
Legal handling of gun possession cases, however, was sometimes complex. The Bronx DA wanted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. Firearm possession cases typically reach the Bronx DA through two paths. The most common path begins with an arrest by law enforcement, typically resulting from a pedestrian stop, traffic encounter, a search related to another crime, or the recovery of weapons at a crime scene. Still other cases are initiated through DA investigations and indictment, including high-risk cases such as those tied to gang activity or illegal gun trafficking. During the initial criminal court arraignment — sometimes referred to as the first appearance — defendants are informed of charges and asked to plead guilty or not guilty. Prosecutors have discretion to upgrade or downgrade arrest charges during initial screening, so the charges at arraignment may differ from those at arrest. If the defendant is in custody following arrest, an arraignment hearing must be held within 24 hours. Other arrestees receive desk appearance tickets (DAT) from law enforcement and are instructed to return to court on a specific day, typically within three weeks of arrest.
Legal processing of firearm cases depends on the specific charge(s) involved. Under New York law, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (PL 265.03) is a class C violent felony. The most common conduct charged under this section involves possessing a loaded firearm with the intent to use it against another person. Less serious D-felony gun charges (PL 265.02) cover a wider range of circumstances, including possession by individuals with prior criminal convictions. At arraignment, the DA’s Office may exercise discretion to move defendants down from C-felonies to D-felonies.
Firearm possession cases that are not dismissed or resolved through a plea are usually indicted and proceed to criminal court.1 New York State law imposes mandatory minimum prison sentences for felony gun possession convictions. The DA Office’s data dashboard notes that the number of arraigned cases over a specific period is not equal to the number of arrests referred to the Bronx DA, because some arrests are declined for prosecution, transferred to other courts before arraignment, or result in the defendant not appearing and being issued a bench warrant. In short, the Bronx DA’s processing of gun possession cases flows from arrest or a DA-initiated investigation, through screening and review of charges, arraignment, bureau assignment based on charge severity and case type, and finally to plea negotiation or indictment. The routing between the General Crimes Bureau (misdemeanors), Trial Bureaus (felonies), and the Violent Criminal Enterprise Bureau (gang/trafficking cases) reflects a tiered structure organized around the seriousness and complexity of a defendant(s)’ alleged conduct.
Diversion Alternatives
The Bronx DA deploys diversion alternatives when they are warranted and consistent with public safety goals, including in many firearm possession cases (Clark 2023). The District Attorney partnered with the New York State Office of Court Administration to support nonprofit service providers in operating firearm diversion interventions, including the Osborne Association and BOGAP. The DA’s goal was to make the community safer by changing attitudes and behaviors related to firearms, along with services and opportunities to improve a defendant’s educational and employment prospects. Defendants plead guilty to gun charges, and those charges can be dismissed if they complete the program, which includes case management, conflict-resolution skills, cognitive-behavioral interventions, job-readiness training, and paid internships.
The Osborne Association partnered with the Bronx DA to develop BOGAP as a replacement for felony convictions and the potential of carceral sentences for a defined group of defendants. As the Bronx DA team reviewed the options for resolving cases after BOGAP completion, they noted that many first-time felony gun possession cases were already handled without prison sentences. This led to the initial BOGAP plea deal — a felony guilty plea at the start of BOGAP would be downgraded to a misdemeanor after the defendant completed BOGAP and the 90-day “cooling-off” period with no re-arrests. The Osborne Association served the initial cohort of participants beginning in the summer of 2021.
When law enforcement submitted an arrest to the DA, prosecutors would review the circumstances, interview witnesses and victims, and decide whether to file charges. The DA could instead determine that “declining” to prosecute was more appropriate. District Attorney Clark testified before the New York City Council in 2025 that felony dismissal rates in the Bronx had grown from 26 percent in 2019 to 44 percent in 2024, a shift she believed was related to the 2019 discovery reform law. Clark also pointed out that her office was underfunded and understaffed. Under the new law, prosecutors were required to turn over all evidence to the defense and be ready for trial within 90 days of arraignment for misdemeanors and within six months for felony cases. Failure to file a certificate of compliance confirming evidence disclosure would result in dismissal of the case on speedy-trial grounds. In late 2025, she and her fellow prosecutors worked with State officials to enact needed changes to the 2019 law.
In 2023, the Bronx DA pursued prosecution in just 75 percent of violent felony arrests, compared with 95 percent in other New York City boroughs (Monaghan et al. 2024). When Bronx defendants faced felony firearm charges, however, prosecutors moved forward in 92 percent of cases (Trends in Prosecutor Charging Decisions 2018-2022, see Table 2). Despite recent increases in charging declinations, the Bronx DA pursued intensive prosecutions in the most serious cases while using alternative approaches for less serious matters. In those cases, the DA Office developed several diversion tracks that served as intentional off-ramps.
The Bronx Osborne Gun Accountability and Prevention initiative allowed indicted first-time gun offenders under age 40 without a prior violent felony conviction to have firearm charges dismissed upon successful completion of the year-long program.2 Participants who successfully complete the program would have their felony charges downgraded to misdemeanors rather than being dismissed. In 2025, after the program’s successful launch, the Bronx DA agreed to allow cases to be dismissed upon successful BOGAP completion. The DA team reported that many non-BOGAP cases were already resulting in dismissals. Thus, adding the potential for dismissal in BOGAP would increase fairness and serve as a just reward for individuals who invested the extra time and commitment required to complete the program.
Program Goals
BOGAP is a community-based diversion initiative designed to promote changes in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors among participants and to support them in leading safer, more productive lives. The program aims to reduce the likelihood of future involvement in violence by offering a structured alternative to traditional prosecution and addressing the underlying causes of gun-related crime. If participants successfully “put down their guns,” the hope was that they would avoid the long-term consequences of incarceration that historically result from gun possession convictions. (See Appendix G for the Osborne Association’s BOGAP logic model.)
Unlike some diversion programs that simply defer prosecution, BOGAP was designed as a structured, intensive program organized in three phases to introduce participants to new modes of thinking while emphasizing personal responsibility and accountability. Participants are referred to Osborne from the Bronx DA and thoroughly assessed during an intake process. Staff members continue to evaluate individual needs with ongoing case management throughout the program. The early phases of BOGAP include group workshops, individual mentoring, clinical sessions, and job readiness training to support behavioral change and skill development. Program completion requirements reinforce discipline, consistency, and follow-through. Later phases emphasize workforce engagement and employment-related activities, with continued opportunities for individual mentoring and clinical support as needed. Participants commit to 20 hours of programming per week for 12 months, followed by a 90-day “cooling off” period during which they must remain arrest-free.
BOGAP guides participants toward financial independence, paid employment, and positive community engagement. Core staff members include credible messengers (CMs), who rely on their lived experience to build trust and positive relationships with participants. The curriculum-based group work, including interactive journaling, role-play, and group discussions, encourages participant growth through reflection and skill development. The CMs tailor the curriculum to each cohort’s background and experiences. However, individual participants’ engagement varies, particularly among those who are less comfortable sharing their thoughts in the early phases of the program. An in-house clinician provides Dialectical Behavioral Therapy to address participants’ mental health needs and support their growth and development. Participants also have access to hard skills certifications, paid internships, job placement, and post-program support through the Osborne Association. Program participants build community connections and a personal sense of purpose through involvement in community projects, such as serving food and distributing clothing to people experiencing homelessness, visiting local political offices, supporting community events (e.g., health fairs), and cleaning public parks.
“I describe it as a second chance. You got people here that just don’t look at you basically like, as just a criminal. They see you as human. So that’s always a good feeling. … [Y]ou create family here, like me and my cohort just feel like family now… I look at them like older brothers, uncles.”
– BOGAP Participant
(Quotations are lightly edited for concision and clarity.)
Staff members continually monitor participants’ engagement and progress through the program stages. When changes are needed, staff members develop strategies to support each participant’s ability to complete the curriculum and graduate from BOGAP (Table 1). Regular court appearances serve as structured check-ins to monitor progress, confirm compliance, and offer encouragement to participants. Participants have regular hearings (approximately one per month) before the judge who oversees ATI programs in the Bronx. Osborne staff deliver brief reports on each participant’s progress at the start of the hearing, providing relevant context without overpraising or diminishing issues and challenges. The judge may offer advice and suggestions to participants as needed, keeping them focused on completing the program and moving their lives in positive directions. Together, the judge, the Bronx DA’s Office, the defense attorneys, and the Osborne Association work to promote second chances and prioritize personal growth, accountability, and opportunity over punishment. All parties share a commitment to helping people move toward safe, stable futures.
BOGAP participants often benefit from additional services. Staff may provide wraparound support, including mental health referrals, legal assistance, housing assistance, food access, clothing for job interviews, and access to other necessities. Such efforts help participants meet basic needs while building bonds with staff. When their needs exceed what BOGAP can provide, such as permanent housing, legal identification, or transportation across boroughs, program staff may refer participants to additional programs at the Osborne Association or other agencies. The program offers other ways to support participants while they are on-site at Osborne, including a lounge area in the office that provides a comfortable and safe, home-like space where participants can decompress from external stressors.
The program supports BOGAP staff with comprehensive training in Alternatives to Violence Prevention, Interactive Journaling, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, and Job Readiness Training. Osborne clinicians receive additional training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. The training strengthens program delivery and takes multiple forms, including hands-on training, facilitation practice, and team debriefs. Ongoing professional development throughout the program maintains BOGAP’s quality and encourages staff to respond to each participant’s evolving needs.
Pathways to BOGAP
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office must refer a person to participate in BOGAP. Once cases are determined to meet the program criteria (i.e., top charge PL 265.03, age 16 to 39, and no prior felony conviction in the Bronx), the office performs a background review that includes criminal history checks and social media searches. Individual work-ups are presented in roundtable sessions to discuss suitability for BOGAP. Clear disqualifiers include all cases involving discharge of firearms and probable incarceration sentences, prior gun-related incidents, additional pending violent-felony arrests, and involvement in unrelated upcoming cases.
Referrals to BOGAP are not possible for various other reasons as well, including mental health needs beyond what the program can provide, legal cases that appear weak and likely to be dismissed, concerning material found in social media background checks, obstacles presented by the defendant’s primary language, if their residence is too far from the program site, or defendants who are working or attending school full-time. Upon referral to BOGAP, the Osborne Association screens potential participants before enrolling them in the program. Severe mental health challenges not previously identified by the Bronx DA, active substance use, or unresolved interpersonal conflicts that require intensive support are likely to deem a person ill-suited for BOGAP.
The Bronx DA considers alternate resolutions for individuals who do not meet the program’s strict eligibility criteria. People who cannot attend BOGAP for valid reasons, but who would otherwise meet the program criteria, may be offered interim probation or other diversion programs. BOGAP is a voluntary program. Defendants referred to the program do not have to accept the offer. The Bronx DA works to ensure the consideration process is fair and thorough.
As BOGAP operations continued after 2021, the Bronx DA’s office continued to balance the need for public safety with the desire to provide participants with an “off-ramp” from violent behavior and facilitate more positive futures. During the pilot phase, the Bronx DA team spent considerable time reviewing each case and asking questions to understand the defendant’s total context. The staff saw that, no matter how carefully a case was reviewed, it was not always possible to identify the entire range of factors influencing a person’s behavior. Over time, and with public safety in mind, the Bronx DA and Osborne expanded eligibility to include higher-risk, higher-need individuals. As the program evolved, being a participant in other crimes was no longer an immutable disqualifier. The Bronx DA continued to support the program even when participants were arrested for minor offenses while enrolled in BOGAP. The office believed that if the program had the potential to produce outcomes at least as good as, if not better than, those of felony convictions, BOGAP remained a viable option.
_________________
(See Appendix H for additional details on the research team’s supplemental analysis that used the Bronx DA’s randomized case assignment process.)
Footnotes
- From 2021 to 2025, of the 4,644 cases arraigned on firearm possession (specifically Penal Law code 265.03), 75 percent or 3,486 cases made it to the grand jury, and 1,158 (25%) did not because they were either pleaded out, transferred to another court, dismissed beforehand, or still active. Of the cases that did make it to the grand jury, according to the BronxDA Office, 93 percent (n=3,235) were indicted and 251 were withdrawn or dismissed. [↩]
- The program was originally designed for defendants under age 30, and it was called the Bronx-Osborne Gun Avoidance Program. [↩]