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Committee notes and files police report on citywide gun buybacks; LAPD outlines program funding and processing
Summary
The Public Safety Committee noted and filed a Board of Police Commissioners report about resources for citywide gun buyback events. LAPD described past recoveries, the program's funding source and how surrendered firearms are handled and destroyed.
The Los Angeles City Council Public Safety Committee on Wednesday noted and filed a Board of Police Commissioners report on resources needed to host citywide gun buyback events.
The committee's action followed a presentation by Captain Zara Khan of the Los Angeles Police Department, who said the department has recovered roughly 18,192 firearms since the program began in 2009 and that 731 of those were classified as assault weapons under California Department of Justice standards. Khan told the committee the department and its partners have seen many ghost guns in recent years and that the program focuses on removing those and other illegal firearms from circulation.
Khan described the program's logistics and funding: the department provides personnel and evidence handling while gift cards used as incentives are funded and distributed through the Mayor's Gang Reduction and Youth Development Program. "The police department doesn't provide any of the funding. We provide the personnel, the logistics," Khan said. Khan told the committee that a typical buyback requires roughly $30,000 to $50,000 in gift-card funds depending on the number of event sites.
Khan also addressed what happens to firearms after surrender. She said the program is anonymous, staff run firearms through the Department of Justice automated firearm system to check for loss or theft, store them under closed-circuit surveillance in evidence and property, and then transport them to a shredding vendor in the Harbor for destruction. "I've never once sold these firearms for profit, nor have we put these guns back out in circulation as duty weapons," Khan said.
Public commenters addressed the item in favor and asked questions about program scope and whether gift cards could come from different council offices. The committee discussion also noted that the department has not staged a buyback this calendar year and that prior events were funded by outside offices, such as a 2023 event funded through a council office partnership.
Vote: The committee called the roll on the Board of Police Commissioners report on gun buybacks; Council Member Lee, Council Member Price, Council Member McCosker, Council Member Sotomayor Martinez and Council Member Park voted in favor, and the committee noted and filed the report.
