ITHACA, NY (CortacaToday) – Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne is lauding the success of the GIVE task force in its last days with his office.

The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) has led the grant-funded gun-involved violence elimination squad for the past year. The program is designed to focus on gun crime in the county, with a focus on the City of Ithaca and known offenders.  The task force has handed out 111 misdemeanors and 50 felonies in a year. They’ve confiscated 27 weapons, including 20 illegal guns, 365 grams of meth, 285 grams of cocaine, 27 grams of heroin, and thousands of dollars in suspected drug money.

TCSO calls the work of the task force hugely successful and has resulted in a decrease in shots-fired complaints and illicit drug activity. Osborne adds he’s “proud of the partnership that was formed.” The task force comprises the TCSO, the District Attorney’s Office, Tompkins County Probation, Ithaca Police Department (IPD), NYS Parole, the Southern Tier Crime Analysis Center, and others.

New York State is funding the GIVE program again, with IPD taking over on Monday.