“Former ATF Assistant Director Bouchard says crooks have easy access to cheap stolen guns on the street,” abc.com reported back in January. “‘If you talk to any criminal, they can find a gun within an hour or two. Cheaper guns that were stolen can be sold for $50. On the street, a typical good handgun will run you $200 to $300,’ Bouchard said.” The problem with that deal: the transaction is illegal. A bad guy can go to jail for that sort of thing. Enter the Boston Police . . .
The first week of Boston’s gun buyback program has led to the recovery of 136 firearms, including 129 pistols, the type of firearms most likely to be used in a crime, police said.
Police Sergeant Michael McCarthy said the guns have been handed over to police in nearly every neighborhood, by people of a wide variety of ages.
“We have had just about every type of community member bringing them in,’’ said McCarthy. “Including gang bangers, drug addicts, thugs and other forms of low-life looking to make a quick, no-questions-asked buck.”
Just kidding (a little April Fool’s levity). The second part of McCarthy’s quote: “And in just about every location, we had somebody turning one in.’’ Provided the target market [see: above] can read, bostonglobe.com provides the deets . . .
Under the [$125,000] Piece for Peace program, people are allowed to turn in the firearms to police anonymously at drop-off points around the city in return for a $200 Visa cash card. McCarthy said that each of the 136 weapons surrendered was tested and was proven to be an operating firearm.
Under the buyback rules, the weapons are tested against ballistic evidence collected at other crime scenes and if there is a match, police will launch an investigation. McCarthy said about a third of the recovered firearms have been tested so far and none of those have been matched to existing forensic evidence.
The cops will launch an investigation! But they won’t know who turned-in the gun. That makes sense. Well, OK, it doesn’t. Nor does it make sense for the Boston Police Athletic League, the City of Boston Credit Union and the Boston Police Runners Club to match or beat the street price for stolen guns, encouraging criminals to steal guns for a fast, no-hassle sale to The Man.
Oh, and I wonder if the cops in the photo above are on the clock. In fact, how much police time (which increases police pensions) is the program sucking-up? Bueller? Bueller?
Dirty cops? No surprise here. Thugs with badges, or gang bangers with badges. All of this is MHO of course.
How do you get to “dirty cops” from this article? Did you even read it?
It only encourages those who would take advantage of this system to steal more. Why would I steal a gun then sell it to some dude for $50 when I can sell it to the police for $200 and get off free?
Police work is a union job, so the two most important words here are “job security.”
No need for Boston Strong to be out of work, right? (sarc)
Ah the sweet voodoo of “weapons matching”. Only thing more “scientific” that DNA matching (and man caused global warming/climate change/whatever).
Matching tool marks from a gun, assuming it hadn’t been tampered with or used heavily in the meantime, can accurately match a spent shell casing to the weapon whence it came. DNA matching is also accurate, accurate enough that Project Innocence have managed to exonerate many wrongly convicted victims of the court system. Neither method is fool proof, however.
As for global warming, well, it’s a natural cycle that we piddling Humans have little influence over (and what we should actually be concentrating on is proper waste disposal and toxicity).
This program should pay for itself since they can sell the guns back to the street for $200-300 each… assuming they don’t become ham sandwiches or Christmas gifts for CI’s first.
Makes no sense that they’d check the ballistics of a gun turned in by parties unknown?
Of course it makes sense.
With every firearm registered, they can trace the serial number to the last registered owner and charge that person with the crime.
Due to the “smoking gun”, that poor sot will be guilty until proven innocent beyond a reasonable suspicion.
Note the subtle – but not too subtle – racism of the word “black” in the title paired with the photograph of the African-American officer. And the word “black” is just about directly over his head, too.
You gun nuts are all the same, aren’t you.
(Kidding, just kidding!)
I think a double face palm feel good unicorn and fluffy cloud moment is in order.
Meanwhile, how many lawful,.. Strike that,.,, potential new felons, are waiting for the “go get them” order,.. Ya know, New England voted for all of this. Sure there was the minority opposition, keyword minority. Even NYC Socialist,. Er uh, Mayor DeBlasio, said “those” types of folks shouldn’t and are not welcome here.
Long fight ahead. Mentality of The NE.
Fight the good fight, or move. There will be no tolerance or compromise with these folks, and they are not going to stop.
My head hurts after reading this story.
Seems like I have read about the 99$ gun.. I know for sure there are new guns available for sale for less than $200…
assuming it isnt a straw purchase when selling to .gov (unlikely they would want to prosecute themselves as well)….
seems like prime arbitrage opportunity…
I have read that in one place where they were buying guns “back” ( like the police are the proper original owners, right?) for $200, folks were buying $130 Nagant revolvers and reselling them to the cops. Don’t know if that’s true or an internet rumor–but it would work, I guess.
Whatever else can be said about this post, the photo reeks of “weekend photo caption”.
MMmmmmm — handguns!
“The cops will launch an investigation! But they won’t know who turned-in the gun. That makes sense. Well, OK, it doesn’t.”
I’d like to believe that the cops have video of everybody who turned in guns, complete with audio of the “concerned citizens” confirming serial numbers, or lacking them, descriptions of the guns they turned in with assigned ID numbers for later “forensic evidence” comparison.
Yes, I’d really like to believe that — but I don’t.
Something like that might lead to even lower numbers of guns turned in the next time they pull this grandstanding stupidity.
You know you’re dealing with a jerk when he wears 5 stars. General of the Police?
+1! If no living real general is considered worthy of five-star rank, police chiefs should not be wearing an insignia that is properly reserved for men who carried very heavy burdens in very big wars.
Frankly, I resent police wearing any military rank insignia at all. They are not members of the military, and should no more pose as one by wearing such insignia as I should impersonate a police officer by wearing a badge.
Gee did the chief get the pick of the litter? I think sooo.Gun buybacks …the highth of stupidity.
Aren’t they stepping on the toes of the ATF?
kill someone with gun
Destroy rifling in barrel
give to cop ran buy back program
gun gets destroyed
so does a murder weapon
Cops in picture “yeah im gunna take those two, which ones do you want carl, heard you used your last drop peice when you shot that kid”
In all seriousness though, ballistic matching doesnt work, the fbi admitted it years ago, if you still believe it is going to turn up a lead especially coming from that no questions asked buy up, you might also believe in Santa
Can you say “Self-fulfilling prophesy?”
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