City's fourth gun buyback takes in 639 weapons
By Brian Meyer
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Published:
May 26, 2011, 9:45 PM
Police collected 639 weapons and distributed $28,015 in debit cards during Buffalo's fourth gun buyback, according to a final audit.
The review of the May 14 buyback found no irregularities or other major problems, said chief auditor Darryl McPherson.
"From an auditing standpoint, it was one of the smoothest gun buybacks we've ever had," McPherson said.
In some prior years, a number of guns were misclassified. The city distributes debit cards of varying amounts, depending on the type of weapon that is surrendered. For example, an assault weapon commands $100, while nonworking or antique guns command just $10.
Final audit figures show that 37 percent of the guns collected -- or 239 -- were nonworking or antique weapons. Police collected 219 handguns, 178 rifles and three assault weapons.
This was the fourth gun buyback the city has held since 2007. The four initiatives resulted in 2,951 weapons being collected, said Richard F. Calipari, the city's investment and debt management officer. The city distributed $138,075 in debit cards during the four buybacks.
The effort was funded through assets seized from drug investigations and other crimes, officials said. Calipari noted that even the overtime paid to some police officers who manned seven drop-off sites was funded through drug asset forfeiture funds. JPMorgan Chase donated its services to supply the actual cards.
The number of weapons collected in the buybacks has been steadily dropping each year, according to figures prepared by the comptroller's office. The first buyback netted 878 weapons. In the two following years, police collected 723 and 711 guns. This year's number was down 27 percent from the first buyback in 2007.
for complete:
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/buffalo/article435325.ece
| 