Daytona Beach, FL – Fewer guns were collected this year in Volusia County than the year before during the annual Kicks 4 Guns event.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says 61 guns were turned in at the Volusia County Fairgrounds near DeLand on Thursday, the day it and other law enforcement agencies around Central Florida designated as the day for Kicks 4 Guns.
The program encourages citizens to turn in unwanted guns to law enforcement with no questions asked about where the guns came from.
Those who turn in guns will remain anonymous and cannot be prosecuted even if authorities find out later on the gun was stolen or used to commit a crime.
The Daytona Beach Police Department collected 25 guns at the Dickerson Center during its Kicks 4 Guns event. That’s 58 fewer than the 83 gathered by DBPD in 2014.
VCSO’s total of 61 is 20 fewer than the 81 deputies gathered in 2014.
The 86 guns picked up in Volusia for 2015 is just over half of what VCSO and DBPD took off the streets in 2014 (164).
Both agencies offered $50 gift cards to anyone who turned in a working gun. DBPD’s gift cards were from Walmart while VCSO used Publix gift cards bought with money seized during criminal activities.
Other than VCSO and DBPD, no other Volusia law enforcement agencies participated in Kicks 4 Guns.
In all, 775 guns were gathered by Central Florida law enforcement agencies this year during Kicks 4 Guns. That includes VCSO and DBPD.
Authorities say having fewer guns on the street helps decrease the chances of a gun being stolen and used to commit a crime.
This is the 6th year that both VCSO and DBPD have participated.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.