Gun Buy-Back Program 2022

The Auburn Police Department's continued efforts to increase community outreach and awareness play an essential role in our primary goals: keeping those who live, work, and play in our beautiful city safe. We have received requests from community leaders and members to bring awareness to gun violence and create a mechanism for those with unwanted firearms to dispose of them safely and responsibly.

In response to these requests and concerns, we have scheduled our first gun buy-back program for the City of Auburn. This event is an opportunity for those who have unwanted and unneeded firearms and are looking for another way to safely and responsibly dispose of them. There are several key objectives of our gun buy-back program, which include raising awareness of gun violence. By collaborating with our community and raising awareness of gun violence, we can work towards possibly reducing the risk of negligent firearm discharges, the use of firearms in domestic violence situations, suicide, and gun theft.

Saturday, August 6, 2022

8:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Auburn City Hall Parking Lot

1225 Lincoln Way

Auburn, CA 95603

Day of arrival instructions

Firearms must be unloaded/locked in the trunk of your vehicle. Ammunition will not be accepted at the event. Please remain in your car for the duration of the event. No walk-ups are allowed, and please follow the directions of staff. Gift card quantities are limited and subject to availability. We reserve the right to limit the number of gift cards an individual may receive regardless of the number of firearms surrendered. 

What is a gun buy-back program?

A gun buy-back program is an event where community members can turn in unwanted firearms, typically anonymously and with no questions asked, and receive some form of compensation in return. Our goal for the gun buy-back program is to provide a service to our community that will raise gun violence awareness and creates a dialogue that will ultimately make our community safer. Those who participate in gun buy-back events indicate their reasoning is a lack of experience or knowledge of firearms, they are not familiar with current laws involving firearms, and/or their inability to safely store their firearms. 

Do gun buy-back programs work?

The short answer is "it depends." Many studies and information are available online that present both, the success and/or the ineffectiveness of gun buy-back programs in reducing gun violence overall. The data shows that removing unwanted firearms or firearms that are not adequately stored reduces gun violence in the home. On a larger scale, the success of gun buy-back programs is less known because the events happen infrequently. If we can remove one firearm from the streets and potentially prevent a gun from being stolen and used to hurt or even kill someone in the future, then we believe the program is worthwhile.

Do gun buy-back programs prevent criminals from obtaining guns?

Data shows some gun buy-back programs have removed illegal guns from the streets. One objective of the buy-back program is to limit the firearms that are not adequately stored in a home. Data estimates that roughly 50% of firearms used in crimes are stolen from law-abiding citizens or illegally obtained. Furthermore, an estimated 500,000 guns are stolen each year from homes where firearms were not stored properly. 

Even if you are not participating in the gun buy-back program, we ask that you look into ensuring you have an adequate security system for your firearms, such as a gun safe or gun locks. 

Don't people turn in old and non-working guns?

To receive the compensation, we require functioning firearms. Our trained staff will inspect each weapon we receive to ensure it is operable. We will not provide payment for non-working guns. However, we will gladly assist if someone is looking to dispose of a non-functional firearm. 

What happens to the guns that are turned in?

Typically, all the guns received in the buy-back program are destroyed. Most commonly, the guns are melted down, and the scrap metal is recovered.