Drizzt
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The Washington Post
March 06, 2003, Thursday, Final Edition
SECTION: HOWARD EXTRA; Pg. T03
LENGTH: 526 words
HEADLINE: Rewards Offered for Guns; Police May Give $250 for Leads
BYLINE: Phuong Ly, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY:
Want to make a fast $ 250?
The Howard County Police Department is offering that reward to anyone who provides a tip that results in the recovery of an illegal gun or the arrest of someone who has one.
The reward program is funded through a $ 60,000 grant from the Maryland State Police's Operation Cease Fire program, which focuses on ways to reduce crime by cracking down on illegal gun possession. Money from the grant also will pay for overtime for officers investigating tips and additional training to help police learn how to identify and deal with people who are carrying weapons.
It's unclear how much of the fund will be devoted to the reward money, police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said.
Howard and the City of Frederick are the only jurisdictions in Maryland using Operation Cease Fire money to reward citizens, said Edward P. Ciesielski, the program's administrator.
Llewellyn said that officials hope the reward will entice tips not only from typical residents but also from criminals willing to snitch on other criminals. Most guns seized in crimes are possessed illegally, she said. Howard police confiscated 183 guns in crimes in 2001, the latest year for which statistics are available, she said. No breakdown, however, was available about how many were illegal.
"We certainly don't want to take guns away from people who possess them legally, but we see that most crime is committed with illegal weapons," Llewellyn said. "As a law enforcement agency, we see the devastating effect that illegal firearms have on our community."
But gun rights advocates say they're worried that Howard's program could turn into a "witch hunt," particularly if law-abiding gun owners are targeted by neighbors upset that they have a weapon.
"They're going to nail people who never had any connection to violent crime," said Jim Purtilo, editor of Tripwire, a statewide newsletter about gun rights issues. "It's a real misallocation of tax resources."
He suggested that Howard county instead use the money to offer rewards for tips about unsolved crimes.
But Llewellyn said that legal gun owners "don't have anything to worry about."
"Fewer crimes and less violence I think would be supported by everyone," she said.
Police in the District held a guns-for-cash exchange in 1999 and 2000. But the illegal weapons had to be brought in for the money to be received. In 2000, the District spent $ 250,000 -- half local and half federal money -- and netted 3,362 guns.
In July 2001, however, the Bush administration ended the federal government's gun-buy-back program, which had been launched by the Clinton administration. Officials said the program did not fit with the main mission of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which had funded it.
Montgomery County recently began a crackdown on illegal guns, but without the reward money. Police formed a task force to cull through the more than 70,000 tips about illegal gun possession, most of which were received during last fall's investigation into the Washington area sniper shootings.
To report an illegal gun in Howard, call 410-313-4010.
March 06, 2003, Thursday, Final Edition
SECTION: HOWARD EXTRA; Pg. T03
LENGTH: 526 words
HEADLINE: Rewards Offered for Guns; Police May Give $250 for Leads
BYLINE: Phuong Ly, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY:
Want to make a fast $ 250?
The Howard County Police Department is offering that reward to anyone who provides a tip that results in the recovery of an illegal gun or the arrest of someone who has one.
The reward program is funded through a $ 60,000 grant from the Maryland State Police's Operation Cease Fire program, which focuses on ways to reduce crime by cracking down on illegal gun possession. Money from the grant also will pay for overtime for officers investigating tips and additional training to help police learn how to identify and deal with people who are carrying weapons.
It's unclear how much of the fund will be devoted to the reward money, police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said.
Howard and the City of Frederick are the only jurisdictions in Maryland using Operation Cease Fire money to reward citizens, said Edward P. Ciesielski, the program's administrator.
Llewellyn said that officials hope the reward will entice tips not only from typical residents but also from criminals willing to snitch on other criminals. Most guns seized in crimes are possessed illegally, she said. Howard police confiscated 183 guns in crimes in 2001, the latest year for which statistics are available, she said. No breakdown, however, was available about how many were illegal.
"We certainly don't want to take guns away from people who possess them legally, but we see that most crime is committed with illegal weapons," Llewellyn said. "As a law enforcement agency, we see the devastating effect that illegal firearms have on our community."
But gun rights advocates say they're worried that Howard's program could turn into a "witch hunt," particularly if law-abiding gun owners are targeted by neighbors upset that they have a weapon.
"They're going to nail people who never had any connection to violent crime," said Jim Purtilo, editor of Tripwire, a statewide newsletter about gun rights issues. "It's a real misallocation of tax resources."
He suggested that Howard county instead use the money to offer rewards for tips about unsolved crimes.
But Llewellyn said that legal gun owners "don't have anything to worry about."
"Fewer crimes and less violence I think would be supported by everyone," she said.
Police in the District held a guns-for-cash exchange in 1999 and 2000. But the illegal weapons had to be brought in for the money to be received. In 2000, the District spent $ 250,000 -- half local and half federal money -- and netted 3,362 guns.
In July 2001, however, the Bush administration ended the federal government's gun-buy-back program, which had been launched by the Clinton administration. Officials said the program did not fit with the main mission of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which had funded it.
Montgomery County recently began a crackdown on illegal guns, but without the reward money. Police formed a task force to cull through the more than 70,000 tips about illegal gun possession, most of which were received during last fall's investigation into the Washington area sniper shootings.
To report an illegal gun in Howard, call 410-313-4010.
IDIOTAS ! ! ! ! !