Firearms meet varying fates after moving through law enforcement

From 2022 to the end of last year, Pittsburgh police took in more than 2,700 firearms used in crimes, some confiscated via court order and others simply turned in by people who didn’t want them anymore.

But only a little more than 570 of those guns were destroyed.

Almost 650 of those guns were released — either returned to the lawful owner or sent to another agency, such as the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or the FBI, for prosecution purposes, said police spokeswoman Cara Cruz. That leaves almost 1,500 guns sitting in police evidence lockers.

In some cases, firearms in the custody of police can even be released for resale to the public via licensed firearms dealers.

Critics say the situation is an example of how hard it is for authorities to reduce the number of guns in society.

“These types of programs are emptying an ocean with a thimble,” said Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, a statewide anti-gun violence group.

The practice of destroying guns, Garber said, does not keep pace with the level of gun violence each year, nor does it make a dent in the number of guns in the state. More than 841,000 guns were sold in Pennsylvania in 2023, the latest full-year figures available, according to the National Criminal Background Check System, ranking it fourth in the nation behind Texas, Florida and California.

The process of destroying unwanted or crime-related guns can be so cumbersome, in fact, it’s hard for authorities to keep track of which guns are associated with crimes and which are just unwanted or unclaimed.

“We cannot distinguish how many of the firearms that were destroyed were crime guns,” Cruz said in an email. “We destroy firearms that are also turned in that are no longer wanted, found, etc. The process of destroying or releasing a firearm is very time-consuming. The (Pittsburgh Bureau of Police) takes in more firearms each year than the number of those released and destroyed.”

Slow process

When firearms are seized as a part of a criminal investigation by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office and not returned to the owner, they go through a forfeiture process after the case is closed, said Mike Manko, the office’s public information officer. Those guns have to be kept for five years as part of evidence retention rules.

At the end of that time period, they’re sent to the District Attorney’s Office for destruction.

“The District Attorney’s Office usually does this once a year to help law enforcement agencies clean out evidence that they no longer have to retain,” Manko said.

Rebecca Spangler, first assistant and chief of staff at the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, said a destruction event is scheduled in September or October of each year.

“In general, during the year law enforcement agencies from throughout the county submit lists to our office requesting destruction of firearms in their custody. Our office reviews the request and, where appropriate, submits a motion for a destruction order to the appropriate court,” Spangler said in an email.

Law enforcement agencies are then told to keep the firearm until the destruction event is scheduled. The day of the event, personnel from the District Attorney’s Office are charged with confirming the firearms being handed over by the enforcement agencies are the same ones listed in the destruction orders.

“Depending on availability of the facility, the firearms are either melted down or shredded at an appropriate facility,” Spangler said. “The facilities perform the destruction as a courtesy or public service as available.”

In Westmoreland County, local communities like Arnold can send their seized or unwanted guns to the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Department for destruction, said Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci, herself a former police officer.

There, it’s much the same process. Court orders are required for each gun, and authorities must determine whether there is a lawful owner who wants the gun back before it can be destroyed.

Penn Township police follow the same template. Patrolman and firearm instructor Blake Danowski said the department requests a court order to destroy firearms detained as evidence. Once that order is received, the department has the firearms destroyed at the U.S. Steel Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock.

It’s the same case if the department recovers a lost or stolen firearm, but they also must release a public notice about the weapon’s destruction.

Spangler said Allegheny County has been scheduling destruction events for about 17 years with an average of 20 police departments participating each year.

Reselling firearms

On a rare occasion in December, Greensburg police sold four long guns that were seized in a criminal case years ago. City council unanimously approved selling the firearms to Hufftown Highpower in South Greensburg for $1,660. Police Chief Charles Irvin previously told TribLive the guns were ordered by a judge to be used for training by his department.

He said the department never used them and the firearms just sat in the lockup for years, so the city sold them.

And that’s a viable option, say gun rights groups that question the usefulness of destroying guns that otherwise could be used legally. Police departments that replace officers’ service guns often offer them for sale to the officers as personal firearms or sell them to licensed firearms dealers for resale to the public.

Val Finnell, Pennsylvania director for Gun Owners of America, said firearms lost, stolen or used in crimes should be sold back to the public.

“Destroying firearms perpetuates the myth that more guns equal more crime,” Finnell said. “A gun is an inanimate object. It’s not a dirty gun, but a dirty criminal — that’s where the blame should lie.”

Finnell cited the state’s lowering homicide rates, despite increasing firearm sales, when asked why the destruction of guns is unnecessary.

Luis Valdes, GOA’s national spokesperson, called the destruction of guns used in crimes “a disservice.”

Valdes worked in law enforcement for 15 years and has experience in the firearms industry. He said, theoretically, eliminating gun destruction would not be an issue because guns would be returned to rightful owners or sold by law enforcement agencies through proper channels.

“Vehicles that have run over someone or killed someone can get resold,” Valdes said in comparison with guns used in crimes being resold. “People don’t need to be blaming the object, but blaming the person that caused their grief.”

There even is a national clearinghouse for unwanted guns.

Chip Ayers is communication head and government and law enforcement adviser for the National Center for Unwanted Firearms in Helena, Mont. He said the center was founded as a “graveyard for guns” to keep weapons from circulating illegally back onto the streets.

The center was founded in 2017 by Bruce Seiler, a former Secret Service armorer/ordnance specialist. Operations launched in 2019 when the nonprofit began taking in unwanted guns from civilians.

Those who choose to submit a gun can fill out a contact form or call the center. The center will send a box with a shipping label and instructions on how to pack the firearm. The sender is contacted when the center receives the gun and obtains legal liability.

“If (the guns) are unsafe, we destroy them,” Ayers said. “If they’re worth something that could be channeled to law enforcement agencies or other vetted organizations, that’s where we send them.”

The center has legally transferred guns to hunter safety courses, gun safety courses and museums all over the country. They also work with the Pennsylvania Gunsmith School in Avalon, a nationally recognized gunsmithing school.

Ayers said he’s worked with multiple agencies to determine whether a submitted gun has been used in a crime but, so far, has yet to be sent a crime gun.

Guns that can’t be repurposed or preserved are destroyed according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) guidelines, Ayers said.

“We’ll take it and we’ll cut it into three different pieces so it can no longer be operational,” he said. “According to ATF guidelines — that’s what we use. We cut (the guns).”

He said the organization is working to host mass destruction events much like the ones hosted by county officials.

“We want to be a mechanism for individuals to safely get rid of a firearm,” Ayers said.

Garber of CeaseFirePA said the destruction of guns helps law enforcement muddle through a state “awash with firearms.” He said destroying firearms used in crimes helps officers when tracing serial numbers during an investigation.

“Knowing those guns aren’t being put back onto the market helps officers have a very clear picture of what they’re dealing with,” Garber said.

Garber said gun destruction accounts for an extremely small percentage of guns sold and transferred in the state each year. While gun destruction likely is not lowering the rate of gun violence in Pennsylvania, he said, it still helps officers prevent gun trafficking and the movement of firearms already used in crimes.

“The reality is that we need to provide as many tools as possible to law enforcement,” Garber said. “The quicker we stop gun trafficking, the more lives we save.”