LAPD outlines locations, safety rules for expanded fireworks buyback program; council asks for cost and storage details

The Los Angeles Police Department presented a report to the Public Safety Committee identifying potential locations and safety criteria for citywide fireworks buyback events; the committee approved the report and requested further detail on costs, staffing and storage capacity.

Commander Giselle Espinosa of the LAPD described site-selection criteria and on-site safety controls, saying buyback sites are chosen with minimum-distance requirements from hospitals and schools and with cordoning and separation rules for structures and parks. "There is a minimum distance of 1,000 feet from any medical facilities [and] a preferred distance of 300 feet from structures," Espinosa said, and explained that the bomb squad inspects, classifies and weighs confiscated fireworks for disposal.

Council members supported expanding the buyback program but pressed for specifics. Council Member Kevin de Len asked how many events would occur and how many pounds were collected in prior years; LAPD staff said past single-site results varied (2021: ~300 pounds; 2022: 673 pounds; 2023: 382 pounds; 2024: 254 pounds). Council Member McOsker said buybacks are district-led and the department is a support element; Council Member Price asked whether buybacks would be one-day events or rolling; LAPD said they typically coordinate one site per geographic bureau in the weeks before July 4 and New Year celebrations.

Committee members also asked about program costs and storage limits. Captain Mario Mota and other LAPD speakers said a typical buyback event used roughly eight LAPD personnel (bomb squad and supporting officers) with no overtime in the cited example; staff noted the department lacks extensive magazine storage to hold large tonnages of seized fireworks and that long-term storage capacity is a limiting factor.

Action taken: the committee noted and filed the LAPD buyback report and approved it on the committee vote (Lee, Price, McOsker, Park voted yes; Sotomayor Martinez voted no). The committee directed staff to report back with cost estimates, an assessment of storage capacity and options for semiannual or expanded programs. The department said collected fireworks are physically separated by classification, weighed for gift-card determinations, then transported for disposal through Cal Fire and outlying facilities.

The committee requested follow-up information on per-event costs, potential task-force outcomes for enforcement alternatives, and the departments storage constraints before expanding the program further.