Monroe County has formed a partnership to increase gun safety.

The Monroe County Community Partnership for Gun Safety was formed in June 2023, and presented their findings to the Monroe County Commissioners on July 3.

The partnership was formed because officials began to see an increase in the number of firearm-related deaths due to suicide, as well as court cases, particularly felony cases, that involved firearms. Their mission is to save lives and reduce the harm caused by firearms and gun violence through advocacy and partnerships to provide education, resources and support, according to a press release.

With a $50,000 subgrant through the Gun Violence Investigation and Prosecution Grant program of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the partnership was able to fund research. Jennifer Strauch, the grants manager for the county during the development of the partnership, told the commissioners that the partnership also received a grant for about $695,000, which will be received over the next three years.

Commissioner Chairman John Christy explained in an interview that the funding will pay “for part of crisis intervention coordinator, implement the goals of the survey, hire a coordinator of the project, marketing materials, and an additional youth survey.”

The partnership consists of more than 70 people from county and state government, judiciary, law enforcement, education, business and community organizations, who developed a strategic plan based on surveys, focus group questioning, interviews, and criminal and health data.

At the commissioners meeting, Rick Parsons, of the justice consulting company Carey Group, said, “We really looked at what the data is telling us. … We looked at everything that was available to us.”

Over the decades, Monroe County has consistently had a lower rate of firearm violence from assaults both nationally and in the state, Jennifer Strauch said. That is until recently.

Since 2020, the rate of suicides with a fire arm has increased nearly two-thirds in Monroe County, which surpasses the state and national average. The number of assaults with a firearm has gone up, too.

Their findings discovered that there was a 24.3% increase in weapons cases from 2011 to 2020. In 2021 alone, there were 46 weapons court cases and 575 gun-violence incidents reported. These incidents encompassed a range of violent activities including domestic violence, shootings, murders, death by suicide and more.

The partnership’s Strategic Plan stated that magisterial court data of all firearm-related cases filed between 2018 to 2023 discovered that about 90% of all defendants charged with a firearm-related crime lived in Pennsylvania, 4.5% lived in New York state, 3% from New Jersey, and less than 1% from other states.

“The distribution highlights significant local variations in firearm related crime rates across Monroe County, which could inform targeted law enforcement and community intervention strategies,” the Strategic Plan stated.

The research found that 20% of the defendants were located in East Stroudsburg, 14.55% in Tobyhanna, 14.33% in Stroudsburg, 4.39% in Effort, and 3.1% in Saylorsburg, with most defendants committing crimes in the area they live. Of the defendants, not including juveniles, 11% were between 18 and 24 years old, and 36% between 25 to 34 years old.

Parsons told the commissioners that the partnership has developed four goals.

The first goal is to foster and maintain firearm safety with current gun owners. Rick Parsons explained that they would like to collaborate with gun stores, dealers and clubs “to increase the level of training and information out there.” They want to educate people about safe ways to store firearms, firearm safety procedures, and the legal issues involved with having a conceal carry permit.

The second goal is to decrease the number of firearm-related incidents stemming from mental health issues.

Parsons said they want to “make sure people know about services around them, and make sure that we educate people about learning the signs and symptoms of someone who is at risk of possibly harming themselves.”

The third goal is to educate youth on firearm safety. Parsons said that although he has taught his own children about firearm safety, often young guests in their home don’t have that same knowledge.

And the fourth goal is to increase safety in the communities where firearm-related incidents were most prevalent. This could be accomplished through increased collaboration between the community and law enforcement through partnerships and town hall meetings. Parsons said they want to make sure people are aware of resources.

Commissioner John Christy said he thought the gun safety partnership did an excellent job on their research and development of a strategic plan.

“Gun safety can always be improved and community involvement is paramount,” Christy said. “The repercussion of unsecured guns is deadly.”