How Effective Are Gun Reclamation Programs In Reducing Violent Crime? Researchers Say It's Hard To Tell

On June 10, the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) hosted a gun buyback event, where community members could trade in their firearms for gift cards. Sponsored by Supervisor Janice Hahn, the buyback offered $50 for non-functioning firearms, $100 for handguns, rifles and shotguns, and $200 for assault rifles. According to a LBPD press release, 293 guns were surrendered at the event, including seven assault rifles.

Broadly, gun buybacks are intended to reduce both criminal and interpersonal gun violence as well as self-harm and suicides. Research indicates that the availability of a firearm inside a home drastically increases the risk of gun suicide for all household members, not just the owner of the gun.

But it’s hard to measure exactly how effective these buybacks are at reducing gun violence, according to George Tita, a professor of criminology at UC Irvine. That’s because it’s dealing with counterfactuals: What level of violence would have occurred had the buyback not taken place?

Still, it’s important not to discount the other benefits a buyback can offer, Tita said, speaking on LAist’s public affairs show AirTalk, which airs on LAist 89.3. These events bring people together and are an opportunity for advocacy and education.

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“Maybe an individual is willing to trade in a rusty old shotgun for a small amount of money, but they also have a firearm pistol in the home,” Tita says. “We can remind [those] people about safe storage, we can remind people about their responsibility as a gun owner, that should that firearm be stolen, that it needs to be reported.”

The financial incentive is appealing to people who aren’t very attached to their guns, Tita says: It could be a gun they inherited from a family member, or one that doesn’t function anymore. The difficulty is in getting the guns that law enforcement officials want the most — those that are being possessed illegally, or will end up being used in a crime.

Tita says that when it comes to taking guns out of the hands of people who will commit crimes, there is no perfect solution — though expanding background checks and enforcing Red Flag laws would be a great start.

Tita says that once purchased, guns tend to stay very local: The initial buyer and the final owner often live nearby. This suggests that the issue might lie with straw purchases: Guns are being purchased legally and then given to others who might not be eligible to own one.

“Closing those channels from how they get from the legal possessor into the hands of somebody who should not have possession is a challenge,” Tita says — while gun buybacks alone cannot solve the issue, he says, they offer a chance to take small steps and to emphasize that gun owners’ responsibilities don’t end with a legal purchase.

Listen to the conversation