(BIVN) – State and County law enforcement will be holding a Gun Buyback Program in Hilo on Saturday, July 18th.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the upper parking lot of the Hilo Police Station, located at 349 Kapiolani Street. The program is being hosted by the Hawai‘i Police Department, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Department of Law Enforcement (DLE), the Department of the Attorney General, and the Hawai‘i County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
Community members may turn in handguns, rifles, shotguns, bump stocks, and Glock switches, police say. Ammunition will not be accepted.
Participants may receive up to three gift cards in exchange for returned firearms:
- $100 gift cards for handguns, rifles, shotguns, and Glock switches.
- $200 gift cards for assault-type rifles and ghost guns.
Licensed firearms dealers, as well as active or retired law enforcement officers, are not eligible to participate, police say.
“The no-identification-required, no-questions-asked program provides community members with a safe and anonymous way to dispose of unwanted firearms,” a police department news release stated. “Law enforcement and public health experts note that programs providing safe disposal options for unwanted firearms can help reduce risks associated with unsecured firearms, including accidental shootings, theft, and suicide.”
Police say “unloaded firearms must be placed in a container or box in the trunk of the vehicle before arriving at the event.”
Participants must remain in their vehicles while law enforcement personnel retrieve the firearms from the vehicle’s trunk, police say.
For more information about the Gun Buyback Program, please contact the Hawai‘i Police Department Firearms Section at (808) 961-2239 or at hpdfirearms@hawaiipolice.gov.
