Cash-for-guns

Nassau County’s latest gun buy back program, held at Shiloh Baptist Church on N. Centre Avenue last Saturday morning, got 173 illegal operable guns off the street. The five buy back events in different Nassau County communities have so far collected over 1,470 weapons. Law enforcement pays $200 for each gun, and $14,600 has been distributed to date — money that has been seized from criminals.

Investigators from the District Attorney’s office, the chief investigative prosecutor and members of Rockville Centre’s and Nassau’s police departments were at the drop-off location Saturday, ensuring the safety and success of the event.

  The cash-for-guns exchange is completely anonymous. No personal information was required, no forms needed to be signed, and no video or audio footage was recorded.

“The gun buy back program conducted by the Nassau D.A.’s office and the police department was a success,” said Rockville Centre Police Commissioner Charles Gennario. “This joint venture is aimed at getting guns off the street. It’s also a service provided to law abiding residents who are unsure of the procedure for unwanted weapons that may have been obtained over the years.“

“This is the fifth time since December 2008 that we’ve run this program.The first time out, since there hadn’t been a gun buy back program in Nassau County, we got over 400 guns,” said William Flanagan, second deputy commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department. “Since then we’ve taken it to other communities throughout the county and they’ve been successful regardless of where we’ve gone.

“In my mind, the number of guns we get really isn’t critical,” Flanagan added. “This is a voluntary program and these are people who, for whatever reason, don’t want these guns in their homes. We’re giving people the opportunity to get these handguns out of their homes.

“Part of what this is about is reducing the possibility that these weapons will be stolen during a burglary, used in some situation of domestic violence or found by some child and taken to school as we saw last week in Suffolk County,” Flanagan continued. “And there’s another key component: This is a totally anonymous program, we’ve entered into partnerships with community stakeholders, in this case our religious leaders who graciously offered us their house of worship for this event. They enable us to build trust with the community through their good efforts.

“I applaud the men and women who thought enough of their family and their community to surrender their weapon,” said District Attorney Kathleen Rice. “They have joined in my office’s commitment to reducing gun violence here in Nassau County.

  “The community and the clergy’s involvement are crucial to creating an environment of trust,” Rice added.