5,000 Firearms Total Have Been Recovered Through County’s Buyback Program
UNIONDALE, NY – Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Acting District Attorney Joyce Smith, and Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced that 182 firearms were recovered today at a gun buyback held at Grace Cathedral International in Uniondale. 100 hand guns, 67 long guns, and 15 assault rifles. Long guns were turned in for $100 cash, handguns for $200 cash, and assault rifles for $400 cash.
The Nassau County Gun Buyback Program accepts operable, unloaded firearms onsite in exchange for compensation with no questions asked. Any individual who turns in firearms remains strictly anonymous and is not required to show ID. The program has now taken more than 5,000 firearms out of Nassau County communities since 2008.
“Keeping residents safe is a priority for County government and we are using a wide range of tactics and tools to do that. Buybacks are a proven tool for getting dangerous weapons off the streets and saving lives. I’m proud that Nassau has been named the Safest County in America for the second straight year. However, we must continue to do everything we can, at every level of government, to prevent gun violence – because even one gun death is one too many,” said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
“Every gun taken off our streets or out of our homes is one potential tragedy averted,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Through the gun buyback events we have hosted throughout the state and our efforts taking down violent drug rings, we have successfully collected more than 2,300 guns and made all our communities safer. I’m proud of the work we did today to protect families across Long Island, and we will continue to do everything in our power to combat gun violence. I thank Nassau County Executive Laura Curran for her partnership and to all those who did their part today to make our state safer,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James
“The Nassau County Police Department, working in partnership with the NYS Office of the Attorney General and District Attorneys Office are happy to announce that during today’s Gun Buy Back 182 firearms were purchased with Asset Forfeiture Funds. This is a win win for the department and our communities as any gun taken off the streets, no matter which way we get it, is a good thing”. said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
“We have lost too many lives to preventable gun violence in our country. Buyback programs like this one, paired with smart, common sense gun laws, will go a long way towards protecting our communities and preventing future tragedies. We owe it to those we have lost to stay committed to the mission of ending this senseless violence once and for all. I am proud to be working with County Executive Laura Curran, Attorney General Letitia James, and the Nassau County Police Department on this important initiative to keep our communities safe,” said Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran this week announced that Nassau County has been named the “Safest Community in America” by US News and World Report for the second consecutive year. After taking the number one spot in 2020, Nassau County again ranks number one with a perfect 100 score in US News and World Report’s public safety ranking for 2021<https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/slideshows/safest-counties-in-america?slide=27>, a comprehensive assessment of nearly 3,000 Counties based on seven metrics in three key areas: crime, injuries and public safety capacity. Individual metrics on which counties were assessed included violent crime rate, property crime rate, vehicle crash fatality rate, the share of public safety professionals within a population and per capita spending on health and emergency services. Major crime has declined by 31% over the past decade in Nassau County, including a 7.4% drop in 2021 year-to-date.