A fraction of the guns turned in to Phoenix Police in May, 2013
Phoenix police had nearly 2,000 guns that were turned in to them this May destroyed in secrecy after spending thousands of dollars in police overtime to process them.
This is an unusual way to conduct a deodand ceremony. Usually they are conducted in a very public way, with reporters present, pictures taken of the "evil" deodands as they are righteously crushed, chopped, or burned and melted.
Perhaps Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton decided that using police overtime so that hundreds of thousands of dollars of valuable property could be legally destroyed, instead of the money being used for public purposes, was not good public relations.
The police had competition at the turn in events. Hundreds of private buyers lined the streets to purchase the better, more collectible, or more expensive guns for cash, offering more than the police did.
Of the nearly two thousand guns turned in, only four were found to have been stolen at some time. The number of guns found to be stolen at these events is usually less than 1%.
link to article about preventing police from destroying valuable resources
link to article showing private buyers and their purchases during Phoenix turn in(buyback) events
©2013 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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