County buys back 1,145 guns during weekend
More weapons
surrendered in less time compared to 1994
Inspector Chris Penna checks out a gun that was turned in to the Sayreville Police Department Sunday.
The second gun surrender program, sponsored by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office last weekend, resulted in 1,145 guns being turned over to law enforcement officials.
The three day surrender program began last Friday and was conducted in five locations in the county. The largest number of guns collected were in Sayreville, with 312 total guns being collected in the borough.
The first gun-surrender program in 1994 collected more than 1,800 guns at six sites over 10 days. This averaged out to 31 guns per site, per day, Assistant Prosecutor Cindy Glaser said.
This year, the average number of guns collected per site, per day was 85, she said.
A .38-caliber Smith & Wesson was surrendered to the Sayreville Police Department.
"It was wildly successful. We were very happy with it [the program]," Glaser said.
The prosecutor’s office staffed the Carteret, Edison, New Brunswick, South Brunswick, and Sayreville police departments to collect the weapons from Friday through Sunday. The prosecutor’s office paid $60 to those who turned in handguns, $40 for rifles and shotguns, and $100 for assault weapons.
A total of more than $55,500 was paid for surrendered weapons. The largest amount of money was given out in Sayreville, with $15,560 paid, followed by South Brunswick, with $14,700 paid.
Almost 300 guns were turned in at the South Brunswick location, according to Patrolman Joseph Boguszewicz.
Joe Farrell of North Brunswick turns in some rifles and a pistol to the South Brunswick Police Department during Middlesex County’s gun buyback program on Friday.
Boguszewicz said that one resident turned in about 80 guns.
"They were not in the best of shape; some were older," Boguszewicz said.
That resident walked out of the site with about $3,600, according to police.
South Brunswick police Chief Michael Paquette said that this year’s program was successful.
PHOTOS BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI Lisa Landberg, of Wayne, turns over 40 guns to the Sayreville Police Department on Sunday as Investigator Frank DiNinno counts out the cash that she’ll get in exchange as part of the county gun-surrender program.
"We were very pleased with the turnout," Paquette said.
Overall, handguns were the largest return — 689 of them were surrendered over the course of the three-day program. Rifles and shotguns ran a close second with 444 turned over to the prosecutor’s office. The total number of assault weapons surrendered was 12.
The program, coordinated by Glaser, Deputy Chief Joseph Krisza and Capt. Steve Kaminsky, was designed to make communities safer by reducing the number of dangerous guns that are around. The "most wanted" weapons are handguns, but almost any gun will be accepted.
Glaser said that critics of the program may claim it is a waste of money because the guns turned in are generally not those belonging to criminals. She disagreed with that belief, however, saying she does not see a negative side to the program.
"Anytime you can get a gun off the street – that’s a good thing for law enforcement," Glaser said before this year’s program began. She noted that even the guns owned by law-abiding citizens can wind up in the wrong hands. Not only can they be stolen and used by criminals, but they can also wind up causing tragic accidents — such as cases of children taking their parents’ guns and playing cops and robbers.
"Tragedies do happen with guns owned by good citizens," the prosecutor’s office states in a promotional flier.
Paquette agreed.
"If we get one of the guns out there that may be used in a crime, it is a success," Paquette said last week.
Each of the buyback locations was staffed by two uniformed officers from the local police departments who took the guns and ensured they were unloaded and safe for handling. The staffers from the prosecutor’s office, took down the serial numbers of each gun and dispensed the cash.
Glaser said that while a handful of the weapons may go into a police department arsenal, some 99.9 percent will be destroyed.
Staff writers Charles W. Kim and Brian Donahue contributed to this story.