Police departments grapple with what to do with seized firearms

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Convicted felons and people facing domestic charges cannot possess guns, according to state law, and police are required to keep firearms until a case wraps up. If a person is cleared of their charges, the court can order that the guns be given back to the owner. If the person is charged, the court can order that the guns be released to a family or friend close to the owner. Police said one of those two scenarios most often plays out. But sometimes, the guns just stay in the evidence room.
http://www.ledgertranscript.com/Police-stockpile-seized-guns-13807225
 
Those guns will be trying to escape once word get out about execution. Gonna get ugly. The article is ridiculous. More pandering for money I suspect.
 
There's always GunBusters - which sucks when they get destroyed, but at least the parts are saved?

Whats the SOP on this? Let's say a chief gave you a gun used in a crime that was kept by the PD - is that a legal form of disposal? How about selling the gun? Does the ATF keep good enough track not to screw innocent buyers/recipients over?
 
Have a community sell-back to people with LTCs if the owner doesn’t claim it in 30 days. Run this program twice a year and take the proceeds for the department.

Unlikely in MA, but it would be a workable solution.
 
In MA doesn’t the Village Vault steal them after they are turned over for “storage” by the PD by charging fees that quickly exceed the value of the guns?

Allegedly
 
Convicted felons and people facing domestic charges cannot possess guns, according to state law, and police are required to keep firearms until a case wraps up. If a person is cleared of their charges, the court can order that the guns be given back to the owner. If the person is charged, the court can order that the guns be released to a family or friend close to the owner. Police said one of those two scenarios most often plays out. But sometimes, the guns just stay in the evidence room.
http://www.ledgertranscript.com/Police-stockpile-seized-guns-13807225

A long time ago, (seriously), I was arrested in CT. The firearm I had on me was seized for evidence. The charges were nolled. So 13 months later, they're gone. A year after that, I get a phone call from the local PD telling me that they have a firearm that appears to belong to me and that they're going to destroy it UNLESS I want to come get it.

The only problem is that I no longer have a permit. So I took a friend down to the station with me to pick it up. It was in a nice little evidence box, and had been test-fired.

The funniest part was that part of my "deal" with the prosecuting attorney was that I had relinquished all rights to that firearm. I still have it, it's a nice little stainless Colt Mustang in .380.
 
Must be a real problem. I bet if they stuck a new officer on the problem for a few days and made a effort to get the guns back to owners the room would empty fast.
 
So, guns are the only think causing evidence rooms to overflow? Maybe cops are selling or using the drugs they seize, but there's got to be more stuff taken 'into evidence'.

This sounds like a lot of whining. Cops are responsible for properly storing anything that's 'evidence'. I don't see what the problem is here.
 
So, guns are the only think causing evidence rooms to overflow? Maybe cops are selling or using the drugs they seize, but there's got to be more stuff taken 'into evidence'.

This sounds like a lot of whining. Cops are responsible for properly storing anything that's 'evidence'. I don't see what the problem is here.
"Properly storing"?? I guess you've never been in any PD evidence rooms. Stuff is more or less tossed in there, piled up, etc. Any collectible value is likely shot to hell if/when it is retrieved.
 
Load them in a container and ship them to our freedom loving brothers in Great Britain and Austraila who were disarmed by their tyrranucal governments with the consent of their subjects, i mean, citizens
 
This is the result of a weapon I had seized by the Columbus, Oh police in 1986. They didn't want to give it back...I fought the law and I won. Officer's initials and badge number if curious.
 

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They can have a reverse gun buy back program. People can go to the police station with gift cards to trade for guns. $200 for an AR or AK, $100 for a hand gun, and $50 for a standard rifle or shot gun.
 
Load them in a container and ship them to our freedom loving brothers in Great Britain and Austraila who were disarmed by their tyrranucal governments with the consent of their subjects, i mean, citizens
Don't have to go overseas we have our own "tyrannical" government right here in Mass. Send them here, save the shipping cost.
 
of course they should go back to the onwer (or their designee) if they can posses them. otherwise if the city/town doesn't want to auction them off for the money, the "evil" gun manufacturers are happy to make more and appreciate the gov's effort to keep them in the black!
 
of course they should go back to the onwer (or their designee) if they can posses them. otherwise if the city/town doesn't want to auction them off for the money, the "evil" gun manufacturers are happy to make more and appreciate the gov's effort to keep them in the black!

Simply becoming a prohibited person doesn't necessarily mean your firearm should be stolen from you.

If you have family / heirs that are NOT prohibited you should (in the ethical sense I mean, not necessarily the "will happen" sense) be able to direct the police to transfer it to them. Or to pay you the real worth of the firearm at the very least.

Obviously, I don't mean the yute that bought a gun from Julio round the corner, then used it to knock over a gas station.
 
Don't have to go overseas we have our own "tyrannical" government right here in Mass. Send them here, save the shipping cost.
I douvt they will ever see the light of day. They will brand all of them as "crime guns" that need to stay off the street.
 
How about just auctioning off the unwanted guns that can be auctioned. Then donating that money to a veterans cause or homeless shelter?
 
Have a community sell-back to people with LTCs if the owner doesn’t claim it in 30 days. Run this program twice a year and take the proceeds for the department.

Unlikely in MA, but it would be a workable solution.
What do you do about guns that aren't on Mass approved lists? What do you do with AR's that have "shoulder thingy's that go up?"
 
What do you do about guns that aren't on Mass approved lists? What do you do with AR's that have "shoulder thingy's that go up?"

Police Depts are not FFLs and don't have to follow the AG rules. (Other than the actual AWB that is)

Key question is, are they subject to the 4/year rule? Outside of MA, of course, neither issue matters.
 
Wasn't it Braintree PD awhile back where they had to overhaul everything in their evidence room because cops were stealing from it. I think a cop even committed suicide and they found all kinds of stolen firearms in their residence. Ohh and the residents of Braintree had to pony up $200k to move the evidence room due to criminal cops, and drop over 100 pending charges.

http://www.patriotledger.com/news/2...e-evidence-room-to-be-moved-following-scandal

They should be returned to their owners unless they are a PP. Those which can't be returned should be auctioned off.
 
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