Santa Barbara Police Department Offers $100 Gift Cards for Guns
Anonymous Gun Buyback Event Takes Place Saturday, May 20, at City Public Works Yard
The Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD) is hosting an anonymous Gun Buyback next Saturday, May 20, at the city’s Public Works Yards off 300 East Cota Street, where gun owners can exchange their unwanted firearms for $100 gift cards — no questions asked.
The goal of the event, according to SBPD, is “to help remove unwanted guns from our community and reduce the risk of homicide, suicide, and deadly accidents.”
SBPD will be offering a $100 gift card for each gun surrendered between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on May 20. SBPD requests that all firearms be unloaded and transported to the Public Works Yards in the vehicle’s trunk, where they will be collected by police officers.
The event is completely anonymous, and SBPD assures the community that “law enforcement officials will not be taking pictures of participants or logging license plate numbers, or running ballistic tests on the guns turned in.” All weapons will, however, be checked to see if they have been reported as lost or stolen. Any lost or stolen guns will be returned to their owners; the rest will be destroyed.
Those unable to attend the Gun Buyback can contact SBPD at (805) 897-2355 to make arrangement to surrender any unwanted weapons, though the Gun Buyback is the only way to receive a gift card for a gun.
