Cash payouts of up to $200 per firearm are being
made available to members of the public, according to acting Union County
Prosecutor Grace H. Park, Freeholders Chairman Bruce Bergen, Sheriff
Joseph P. Cryan, and Union County Public Safety
Director Andrew Moran.
The event is being held from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Friday,
July 28 and Saturday, July 29. One of the three locations for
the buyback, being coordinated by the New Jersey Office of the
Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, is
the Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church on Lyons Avenue in
Newark. The
other locations include Antioch Baptist Church in Camden and Friendship Baptist Church in
Trenton.
New Jersey residents can turn in up to three firearms of
any type, no questions asked, and receive payouts of $100 for
a rifle or shotgun, $120 for a handgun or revolver, and $200
for an assault weapon. Police officers and law enforcement
firearms experts will be on hand to assist with the valuation
and securing of turned-in weapons.
TRANSPORTING THE WEAPONS TO THE BUYBACK
Pursuant to New Jersey Statute 2C:39-6g, all weapons being
transported to the gun buyback locations must be carried
unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gun box,
or securely tied package, and locked in the trunk of the
vehicle in which it is being transported. Also, pursuant to
the statute, driving to and from the locations must "include
only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the
circumstances."
Since 2013, two law enforcement-run gun buybacks were held
in Union County-- including Plainfield-- resulting in the collection of nearly 1,500
firearms.
"We were extremely pleased with the results of our previous
events, and we recommend and encourage that any resident of
Union County seeking to dispose of a firearm or firearms
participate in this program," Prosecutor Park said. "One of
this Office's top priorities is investigating, prosecuting,
and preventing violent crime - and reducing the number of
dangerous weapons in Union County neighborhoods is a simple,
effective way to work toward that goal."
"It's an imperative for us in law enforcement to do
everything in our power to take as many guns off our streets
as possible, and buybacks such as these are useful mechanisms
through which many hundreds of firearms are collected at
once," Sheriff Cryan said. "These are weapons that are out of
the picture for good - they'll never be a factor in an
intentional or accidental incident that results in an injury
or death - and all of us are a little safer because of it."
HOW IT'S FUNDED
The Attorney General's Office is paying for the gun buyback
with forfeiture funds obtained by the New Jersey Division of
Criminal Justice, the New Jersey State Police, and the three
participating County Prosecutors' Offices, in Camden, Essex,
and Mercer counties. Payouts will be made on a first-come,
first-serve basis.
The gun buyback has also been promoted through radio,
newspaper, bus transit, social media, and other advertising
throughout the month. Any resident with questions about the
buyback effort can call the Attorney General's Citizen
Services unit at 609-984-5828 or
visit www.nj.gov/guns; frequently asked
questions and answers can also be accessed online at www.nj.gov/guns/faq.html.
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