Firearm take-back program unveiled

Attorney general, L.A. County sheriff announce joint effort to remove guns from wrong hands

A program aimed at taking guns out of the hands of those who should not have them was unveiled Tuesday at a press conference held jointly by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the state Department of Justice.

The program — dubbed Operation Dual Force — works by identifying those not permitted to possess firearms by sifting through a database called the Armed Prohibited Persons System database.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced the joint effort to remove illegally possessed weapons and ammunition from county streets.

The database identifies individuals who previously procured firearms but were later barred from owning them.

People who lose the right to own a firearm are those who are convicted of a felony or violent misdemeanor, are the subject of a domestic violence or other restraining order, or have a serious mental illness.

In the first three months of operation, deputies involved in carrying out Operation Dual Force seized 111 firearms including: 56 handguns, 21 shotguns, 24 rifles, seven assault weapons and three lower receivers — the main portion of a firearm.

Also seized were 27,647 rounds of ammunition. A portion of the weapons and ammo seized were taken from people in the Santa Clarita Valley.

“Detectives with the (LASD) Major Crimes Bureau did follow up by coming to Santa Clarita,” said Lt. Ignacio Somoano, who oversees the SCV Sheriff’s Station’s Detective Unit.

“They were out here in Santa Clarita as part of that program,” he said. “And, yes, I am personally aware of some guns being seized.”

Becerra said at the press conference that the program will continue.

“We expect our operation to grow in the coming months,” he said.

“Deputies are working every day to make sure that guns stay out of the wrong hands.”