How agencies handle stolen guns
How law enforcement agencies update their records on stolen guns varies, here’s what FOX23’s Shae Rozzi found out from the agencies that responded to her questions:
TULSA POLICE Chief Chuck Jordan just changed the policy and instead of sending a form annually, they’ll send a letter every 5 years asking the owner if the guns been recovered or if ownership has changed to their insurance company. Failure to respond to the letter within 10-days could result in the gun being removed from NCIC.
SAND SPRINGS POLICE Chief Mike Carter says they validate stolen guns annually and require a response within 14 days. They are not removed until the time expires for the type of item it is. For example if a gun was stolen in 2000 and the validation letter wasn’t returned in 2002, it would remain in NCIC for an additional 3 years and then it would be removed. Guns stay a total of 5 years. Other items have different periods.
TAHLEQUAH POLICE Chief Nate King says they send an annual validation letter and require a response within 30 days but they will not remove a gun from the database if they have not heard back.
FBI Oklahoma Spokesperson Terry Weber says their office calls owners annually to confirm that the gun is still stolen and keep it active as stolen in NCIC until it has been recovered. Spokesperson Terry Weber says they have a very small volume of stolen weapons so calling is easy for them to do.
TULSA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE PIO Deputy Justin Green says stolen guns are automatically reported in NCIC. They do not remove an entry from NCIC until they recover it or have been notified that the gun has been recovered. They reach out to the gun owner periodically to ask them if the gun is still missing. If a gun owner recovers or discovers that their gun was not stolen TCSO expects them to report that it has been found.
BROKEN ARROW POLICE Cpl. Leon Calhoun Once the gun is reported stolen with our department and it has a serial number we enter it into NCIC, the gun will stay in NCIC until it is recovered. We will call the property owner once a year to confirm that the gun is still missing. If the stolen gun is recovered we remove it from NCIC and contact the owner.
OWASSO POLICE Deputy Chief Jason Woodruff says they keep firearms in NCIC forever or until the reporting agency notifies NCIC that the gun has been recovered. OPD assumes the gun is still missing unless it reported to us as "recovered" through NCIC by another law enforcement agency or if the victim contacts the agency to report that it has been recovered. If the victim somehow recovered their own gun, It would have to be up to the owner to notify us.
BIXBY POLICE Detective Andy Choate says a communications supervisor calls the victims to try and validate the NCIC item. Heather Staley says guns stay in NCIC indefinitely, unless they are recovered, cleared, or canceled by the originating agency. Bixby Police will remove the gun from NCIC after several failed attempts to validate.
MUSKOGEE POLICE Public Information Officer Lincoln Anderson says they enter guns reported stolen into NCIC when the owner gives a serial number. They remain in NCIC indefinitely. MPD has a dispatcher that is in charge of handling audits to go through old cases of NCIC logs to contact owners about whether the firearm has been recovered or is still stolen. The only time it is removed from NCIC is if the firearm is recovered.
What agencies do with guns that are recovered and unclaimed varies as well, here’s what FOX23’s Shae Rozzi discovered:
TULSA POLICE Chief Chuck Jordan says a company will pick up the guns and destroy them for free. The chief previously looked into the cost and process of auctioning guns and decided against it. He would not tell FOX23 the name of the company that provides this service for security reasons.
SAND SPRINGS POLICE Chief Mike Carter says they’ve had some weapons for as long as 44 years. They are currently looking at purging some of them from their property system. They have destroyed weapons in the past (by melting them), but are always looking at the best practices.
TAHLEQUAH POLICE Chief Nate King told FOX23 there are typically four outcomes for the gun. The court may authorize the item to be used by the department. The firearm is returned to the lawful owner. The firearm is destroyed. The firearm is sold at auction. None of those options take placeprior to any court case the weapon is evidence in. Any property that is unclaimed must be advertised in the newspaper so the rightful owner can lay claim. The OSBI and at times the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms will handle the destruction of illegal guns.
TULSA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE PIO Deputy Justin Green says they hold guns for 1 year before they start the process to have the gun destroyed. At one point TCSO sold unclaimed guns after approval was given. Their current process is to destroy them after 1 year.
BROKEN ARROW POLICE Cpl. Leon Calhoun says they do not sell recovered guns in the property room. According to property room personnel, they are destroyed once it is determined they are not needed for trial as evidence, etc. Once destroyed or returned to owner, depending on the situation, they would be removed from NCIC at that time.
OWASSO POLICE Deputy Chief Jason Woodruff says the recovering officer attempts to identify the owner. If they identify an owner, a property clerk will try to contact them by phone and mail at their last known address. The property owner has 90 days to make contact with OPD and claim their property once the letter is mailed. They do not auction guns. A firearm in working order that is awarded to the department through the court forfeiture process is repurposed within the department or traded in to a licensed firearms dealer. Weapons are traded in to a dealer in exchange for credit towards other new weapons being purchased by the department. Generally, the guns OPD trade to a dealer are used for parts by that company, not resold to individuals as intact firearms. A firearm that can be utilized by the department will be issued to OPD firearms staff for training purposes or it can be issued to an officer for duty use. The most common example of this would be if a pump shotgun is forfeited to the department; the shotgun may not be of sufficient quality to be carried as a primary weapon, but it can be modified/repurposed into a "less-lethal weapon" (bean bag gun) and issued to a patrol officer to carry on duty. OPD only destroys guns that are nonfunctioning, unsafe and/or guns that are considered contraband (i.e. sawed off shotgun, illegally modified to full auto, altered/destroyed number etc.). The weapons slated for destruction are cut into small pieces at the city metal shop and placed with the other metal recycling.
BIXBY POLICE Det. Andy Choate go through their property room annually. Any weapon or things of value go on list given to the city attorney and ultimately before a judge. Items can go to the city auction as surplus except for guns. Bixby PD says surplus guns and older department guns are traded in to a gun deal for a credit toward the purchase of new guns.
MUSKOGEE POLICE Public Information Officer Lincoln Anderson says they do not auction or sell any stolen or recovered firearms. They are all taken to Derichebourz Recycling in Oklahoma City and destroyed by being shredded into little pieces.