Introduction to Gun Buyback Programs

The Chicago Police Department has been using gun buybacks to get thousands of firearms off the street. However, a joint investigation between the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times has found that at least two of these guns have resurfaced at crime scenes.

The Investigation’s Findings

One high-profile case involved a Glock that was turned in at a St. Sabina Church event in 2023.

CHICAGO (WGN) — The Chicago Police Department has used gun buybacks to get thousands of firearms off the street, but at least two of them have resurfaced at crime scenes, a joint investigation between the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times found.
"When that gun was on the desk, and it was surrounded by police officers, police officers were looking at it, and talking about good this Glock looked, and then the Glock disappeared. And then one year later it turned up in the hands of a teenaged boy, and that is the center of the story we wrote that takes a longer look at buybacks in Chicago," reporter Casey Toner with the Illinois Answers Project said Friday on the WGN Evening News.

Specific Cases of Resurfaced Guns

A second instance involved a gun that was turned over in 2007 but appeared five years later at a deadly police shooting in Cicero.
Toner said the Chicago Police Department has acknowledged the problem but did not say "how they planned to improve the process."

The Investigation’s Coverage

Watch Toner’s full conversation with WGN’s Patrick Elwood and Lourdes Duarte in the video attached to this article.
The investigation is published on the websites of the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Conclusion

The findings of this investigation raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of gun buyback programs in removing firearms from circulation. While the intention behind these programs is to reduce the number of guns on the streets and thereby decrease the incidence of gun-related crimes, the fact that some of these guns end up back in criminal hands undermines their purpose. It is crucial for law enforcement agencies to reevaluate and improve their strategies for handling and disposing of firearms collected through buyback programs to ensure they do not inadvertently contribute to further criminal activity.

FAQs

• Q: What was the purpose of the joint investigation between the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times?
  A: The investigation aimed to examine the effectiveness of gun buyback programs, specifically focusing on instances where guns turned in through these programs later appeared at crime scenes.
• Q: How many guns turned in through buyback programs were found to have resurfaced at crime scenes according to the investigation?
  A: At least two guns were found to have resurfaced at crime scenes, including a Glock from a 2023 event and another from 2007.
• Q: What has been the response of the Chicago Police Department to the findings?
  A: The department acknowledged the problem but did not specify plans to improve the process.
• Q: Where can the full investigation be found?
  A: The investigation is published on the websites of the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times.