Albany Common Council to Vote on Office of Violence Prevention

New office aims to coordinate citywide efforts to decrease violence

Mar. 31, 2026 at 2:36am

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A serene, cinematic painting of an empty Albany street at dusk, with warm sunlight and deep shadows creating a contemplative mood, conceptually representing the city's efforts to address violence through a coordinated approach.As Albany seeks new solutions to address lingering violence, a centralized office aims to coordinate the city's prevention efforts.Albany Today

The Albany Common Council's Public Safety Committee has voted to pass a positive recommendation for an Office of Violence Prevention to the full common council. The proposed office would consolidate violence prevention efforts under the mayor's office, combining initiatives from the police department, mayor's office, and city council. While violent crime has gone down in Albany, the city is still seeking more solutions to address the issue.

Why it matters

The creation of an Office of Violence Prevention would centralize Albany's efforts to reduce violence and address community concerns. By bringing together various city agencies under one coordinated office, the initiative aims to provide a more streamlined and effective approach to violence prevention programs and strategies.

The details

The current Violence Prevention Task Force has good recommendations but lacks coordination due to separation between agencies. The new Office of Violence Prevention would move the initiative to the mayor's office and combine citywide efforts. While the mayor's office is focused on creating the office, they are not looking to fill it with staff right now and are actively seeking grant funding and other outside resources to support it. The salary for the director of the new office is expected to be higher than the current $50,000 Violence Prevention Task Force Coordinator position.

  • The Public Safety Committee voted to pass a positive recommendation on March 31, 2026.
  • The full Albany Common Council is scheduled to consider the proposal on April 20, 2026.

The players

Tom Hoey

An Albany Common Council member who said the new office would help coordinate violence prevention efforts under one house.

John Reilly

Counsel to Mayor Dorcey Applyrs, who said the mayor's office is basing the potential office on success stories in about 70 other U.S. cities.

Dorcey Applyrs

The mayor of Albany, who would appoint a director for the new Office of Violence Prevention if it is established.

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What they’re saying

“Instead of having three different, you know [departments,] the police department, the mayor's office and the council doing violence prevention, we put it under one house. That's what the public wants to see is a decrease in violence and also a decrease in the feeling that there's violence.”

— Tom Hoey, Albany Common Council Member

“Our goal is to lay out our violence prevention strategies and coordinated efforts as we head into the summer. It's our hope that the office will be established by then, I can't speak to whether or not hiring will be completed by then though.”

— John Reilly, Counsel to Mayor Dorcey Applyrs

What’s next

The full Albany Common Council is scheduled to consider the proposal for the Office of Violence Prevention on April 20, 2026. If approved, the mayor's office will work to establish the new office, though the timeline for hiring a director is unclear.

The takeaway

The creation of an Office of Violence Prevention in Albany represents a coordinated effort to address community concerns about violence and build on recent declines in crime. By consolidating various city initiatives under one office, the goal is to provide a more streamlined and effective approach to violence prevention programs and strategies.