Rice, Suozzi and PD Announce Gun Buy-Back Program

Local churches team up with DA & PD, who will pay $200 to anonymous donors of guns this Saturday

MINEOLA, NY – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey were joined Wednesday morning by members of the Long Island Conference of Clergy as the group announced a joint initiative to take guns off Nassau County streets. 

Rice said that on Saturday, December 20, members of the District Attorney’s Office and the Nassau County Police Department will be on hand at four church locations in Nassau County to collect handguns, sawed-off shotguns, BB guns and air pistols.  With complete anonymity, authorities will exchange cash for the surrender of the weapons.

The operation is a joint venture between the DA, the police department and leaders within Nassau County’s clergy.  The money used to fund the operation will come from proceeds seized by district attorney and police department investigations and prosecutions.

“Criminals will be picking up the tab for this effort,” said Rice.  “We are putting money seized from criminals back into the community, and that will get illegal guns off the streets and give people a little financial boost during the holiday season.  We know that communities with fewer guns are safer communities. My administration, the Suozzi administration, and Commissioner Mulvey’s police department are dedicated to making our neighborhoods safer by going after illegal guns.”

“It is our responsibility to explore every possible action we can take in order to decrease violent crime, and the Gun Buy-Back program is one of them. This will allow people to safely get rid of a gun before it falls into the wrong hands,” said County Executive Suozzi. “While Nassau County still remains one of the safest of its size in the nation, I am confident that this initiative will result in having fewer guns on our streets and in our neighborhoods.”

"Since taking office in July of 2007, I have made gun violence and gun suppression one ofthe top priorities of my administration,” said Commissioner Mulvey.“We have already implemented a variety of law enforcement strategies to combat the violence associated with illegal handguns inour communityand this program is another innovative example ofourcommitment toprotecttheresidents of Nassau County."

Rice said that similar efforts in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island have been met with success in recent months.  This is the first gun buy-back program in Nassau County in two decades.  The program is separate from the police-run GunStoppers initiative launched in February.  GunStoppers encourages and provides a system for the anonymous reporting of gun information to a hotline.  Tipsters receive cash if the information leads to the successful recovery of an illegal weapon.

This initiative, GunStoppers, Nassau PD’s new “ShotSpotter” acoustic ballistic notification system, the joint Hempstead-Nassau PD Gun Task Force and the District Attorney’s creation of a gun prosecution unit within her office are all part of an increase in law enforcement efforts to stem the flow of guns coming into Nassau County and to seize the illegal weapons already on our streets.

“Every agency in Nassau County is committed to keeping our neighborhoods safe and reducing the number of guns that come on to our streets,” said Suozzi. “Initiatives such as GunStoppers, the creation of the gun prosecution unit, and the Police Department’s state-of-the-art ‘ShotSpotter’ system are all part of our ongoing collaborative efforts to keep Nassau County a safe place to live.”

Those handing in illegal handguns and sawed-off shotguns will been given $200, while those handing over BB guns and air pistols will be given $20.  Weapons can be turned in at any of the four locations listed below.  Active and retired law enforcement officers and licensed gun dealers are excluded from participating.  Results of the initiative will be announced Monday, December 22. 

Locations

Grace Cathedral                                              

Bishop R.W. Harris                                         

886 Jerusalem Avenue                         

Uniondale, NY  11553                       

8AM-2PM    

Refuge Apostolic Church of God and Christ                                                 

Bishop Ronald H. Carter

106 Broadway

Freeport, NY 11520

8AM-2PM

South Hempstead Baptist Church

Reverand Phillip McDowell

81 Maple Avenue

Hempstead, NY 11550

8AM-2PM

Antioch Baptist Church                        

Reverend Dr. Phillip Elliott                            

94 James Burrell Avenue                                 

Hempstead, NY  11530                                  

8AM-12PM