Finch Announces Gun Buyback

From city Communications Director Brett Broesder:

Today, Mayor Bill Finch and Police Chief Joseph Gaudett Jr. announced that the state’s largest city will hold a Gun Buyback on Saturday, August 22, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This latest installment of Bridgeport’s Gun Buyback program will take place at the Bridgeport Police Department’s Community Services Division at 1395 Sylvan Ave., Bridgeport, Conn.

“Taking action against gun violence–and the use or trafficking of illegal guns–has always been, and remains, a top priority for me and my administration,” said Mayor Finch.

“Our Gun Buyback program has proven to be successful, taking in more than 1,000 guns since we initiated the program several years ago. Guns that are purchased as part of this program can never be used to hurt or kill ever again. I strongly believe that this effort has saved lives and has made Bridgeport a safer place for kids and families. Even if this program saves one life, it is money well spent.”

As part of the program, Bridgeport offers up to $200 for a working handgun. People turning in rifles will receive up to $100. A weapon determined to be an assault rifle will be eligible for up to $400.

For the Gun Buyback program, people turning in weapons must follow a precise protocol, including:
Ø Firearms MUST be delivered unloaded;
Ø Firearms MUST be put in a clear plastic bag and put into another container (gym bag, backpack, etc);
Ø If depositing ammunition in addition to a firearm, ammunition must be delivered in  separate bag;
Ø If transporting the firearm by car, the firearm must be transported in the trunk of the car;
Ø After the firearm is screened by officers and determined to be a working firearm, cash will be given.

Bridgeport’s Gun Buyback program began in 2012 and has resulted in taking more than 1,000 guns off the street.

The latest installment of Bridgeport’s Gun Buyback program took place on July 18, and resulted in taking 100 additional guns off the street, including 5 assault weapons.

“Every gun that is turned in is a gun that won’t end up on the street in the hands of a criminal or in the hands of a child who could accidentally injure himself or someone else,” said Police Chief Gaudett.

“The police department works hard every day to keep our kids and families safe. This is another tool that helps keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.”

Ø Click here for video of the July installment of Bridgeport’s Gun Buyback event: bit.ly/1GswdkT.

The Gun Buyback is part of an comprehensive strategy to reduce violence and crack down on illegal gun use and trafficking in the city.

The police department has added additional walking beats in targeted areas across the city. And, the police department plans to add 100 officers in the next 18-24 months.

Mayor Finch and the police department have partnered with state and federal law enforcement in Project Longevity, which helps people who commit violence off of our streets while offering support to folks who want to turn their lives around.

And, every day, the police department crime analysis unit and area commanders look for emerging crime trends and shift resources as needed.

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29 comments

  1. “Taking action against gun violence–and the use or trafficking of illegal guns–has always been, and remains, a top priority for me and my administration,” said Mayor Finch.

    Give me a break, give me a fucking break. How many shootings have we seen in the past two weeks? This is not going to take weapons out of the hands of criminals. That’s the job of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. No self-respecting criminal is going to hawk his business tool for a few hundred dollars. Virtually all the weapons turned in are guns that have not been fired in years.

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  2. What would other candidates suggest that would make sense and not sound like rhetoric? Save a life, make a suggestion. Maybe Ganim can tap into Adams, Chapman and Paris and offer some insight or do we have to vote for him before he decides to do a gun buyback program? What is being done across the country we are not doing? Being critical and mocking does not resolve the problem and making this situation political banter is just a waste.

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        1. Common sense? That’s impossible. You don’t have any common sense. And this post is about guns, not politics and religion, the windmill you keeping tilting at.

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    1. This is rhetoric, it just doesn’t sound like it. The one he had a short while ago ran out of money and the majority of the guns were from the suburbs.
      Bill Finch; The Man Without a Plan (for anything).

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      1. Maybe Bass can open a department that caters to buybacks, for every gun they can give the person some fishing equipment, then refurbish the gun and RETAIL it among the many others they will be selling. Maybe there is a position there for Mr. Finch and Mr. Wood.

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  3. Is this gun buyback program going to be utilized to get Bridgeport residents’ guns off the streets or will the bulk of these guns and money be used for the benefit of white suburbanites? The past has shown us the biggest recipients of these Bridgeport gun buyback programs have been suburbanites.

    C’mon Mayor Finch, cut the crap out. It’s bad enough you are sending most of the police and fire jobs to the suburbs, do you have to buy back their guns also?

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  4. Steve, you ask what is Bridgeport not doing. I have an answer for that. Bridgeport has the HIGHEST TAXES in the nation (or almost). If taxes were lower then people would be less desperate and more stable families would be attracted to Bridgeport. Until then this cycle will continue to repeat itself. Gun buyback programs are a band-aid to the real problem.

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    1. BptPorter, let’s be serious for just a moment. Do you believe any of the shootings in Bridgeport have anything to do with our taxes at all? Be honest.

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  5. Gun buyback programs do very little to take illegal firearms off the street. Most of the firearms have been rusting in the attics of Trumbull, Fairfield, Stratford, Shelton; and gathering dust. This is just for show. Mayor Finch and his handlers are cynically using this to fool the voting public into believing he is on top of the violence in Bridgeport. How is buying Uncle George’s ancient hunting rifle from his nephew going to address the four shootings we’ve seen in the past two weeks?

    Virtually all the illegal firearms on the streets of Bridgeport were purchased legally down south, in Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi or Alabama, states with lax gun laws. They are then transported to New York City, Fairfield County and other northeastern urban areas to be sold at a markup. A 9mm Glock that retails for $499 is resold up here for $700-$800, a tidy profit. To suggest a criminal or street thug or gangbanger is going to find Jesus and sell a gun he paid $700 for is to suggest the absurd.

    Bill Finch is not responsible for the gun violence plaguing the city of Bridgeport, but he is accountable for a lack of concrete action to deal with the problem.

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      1. No one is comparing Finch, Ganim or Foster. The problem must be addressed. It doesn’t really matter who it is, as long as public safety is reprioritized by the incoming administration.

        No one gives a rat’s ass about Bill Finch but you already know that, Steve. That’s why you log in every day, to argue and belittle and criticize and mock and scorn nearly everyone else who posts here. If you do not want anyone to reply to your lame-brained, myopic comments, there’s a simple solution: go away and leave us alone. I’m not the only one who’s tired of your pedantic and condescending behavior toward the person making it.

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          1. Bridgeport Kid, the fact Donald Day read your post and agreed with your sentiment pretty much proves my total lack of respect for him. You see Donald Day, if someone threw a temper tantrum about you, I would not chime in when the allegations were clearly false. Good job!

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      2. It’s time for the administration to hire experts to survey the police department and their practices and procedures. There seems to be a problem in management and in supervision. The police department has hardly made a dent in the shootings and murders in this city. Why is that? When is the last time the Bridgeport police made a major drug bust? Just what are the members of the Narc unit doing? We already know the police department does not respond to quality of life issues and we know they find very few stolen cars. Who is at fault? Well I blame Gaudett and his four deputies who have a combined 200 years on the force. This police department is sadly lacking and maybe it should be taken over by the State Police.

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  6. All this going to do is drum up business for Bass Pro’s Firearms Department. Sell your old guns to the City of Bridgeport–and then skip down to Bass Pro to buy something more lethal.

    Brilliant business partnership idea!

    Only in Bridgeport!

    “Better and better and better and better every day! La, la, la.” (Actually, it doesn’t get any better than this–if you’re engineering a nightmare in the Twilight Zone.)

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  7. Look how well that worked out last time. The gun violence actually increased since the last one.

    There are a lot of little old ladies in Stratford, Monroe and Easton with no guns now, though. Maybe this one will assure Bridgeport is the only City in Upper Fairfield County that actually still has guns on the street. Then the Feds can crime scene tape us off and blow us up. Presto! No more gun violence in Bridgeport.

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    1. I was wondering when someone was going to point that out. Steve must have missed it. The mayor’s gun buyback program is so successful, shootings increased since the last one. I guess the owners of unregistered firearms wanted to cap a few people before selling their weapons for a measly $200.

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    2. No Wicca, not the whole city, just the shit holes where the gun violence comes from. No need for substations or surveys, get rid of the gun breeding environments.

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  8. One of the reasons why the BPD cannot find shooters or solve crimes is because the department has been and remains top-heavy. If four Deputy Chiefs are not enough, we then go out and hire an assistant chief. For what? Go hire patrolmen. That’s where we need the help.

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