Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)—May 19, 2012. The Park Forest Police Department needs your help in getting unwanted guns out of the hands of wrongdoers by reducing the number of firearms in circulation. The Village of Park Forest will be participating in the South Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police Gun Buy Back Program scheduled for Saturday, June 23, 2012.
The South Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police, (SSACOP) supports the United States Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. Because so many of our youths have been the victim of handgun violence, we are offering a program for citizens in the SSACOP area to dispose of unwanted guns.
Unwanted firearms are a potential hazard in any home. Unwanted firearms can be stolen, used in an accidental shooting or a suicide. When guns are used in criminal attacks, the outcomes are often irreversible and fatal. Guns are often used in the south suburbs to settle disputes. Settling disputes with guns can have a devastating impact on communities and innocent victims.
The access and availability of firearms is associated with an increased risk of suicide in the home. One study concluded that a household is five times as likely to have a suicide in that home if there is a gun in the home. Overall, guns kept in the home were 22 times more likely to be used in accidental shootings, murder or assault, and suicide attempts, than in an act of self-defense, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Handgun Violence.
SSACOP is sponsoring a gun buyback program where residents living in SSACOP towns only will be given $50 cash for each firearm turned in, which includes rifles, shotguns and handguns. Each of these weapons will be destroyed.
The buy back will be held from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., on Saturday, June 23, 2012, at the following locations:
- Calumet City Police Department, 1200 Pulaski Road, Calumet City, Illinois, 60409, Phone: 708-868-2500
- Lemont Police Department, 14600 W. 127th Street, Lemont, Illinois, 60439, Phone: 630-257-2229
- Western Springs Police Department, 740 Hillgrove, Western Springs, Illinois, 60558, Phone: 708-246-8540
- Chicago Heights Police Department, 1601 S. Halsted, Chicago Heights, Illinois, 60411, Phone: 708-756-6400
- Riverdale Police Department, 725 W. 138th Street, Riverdale, Illinois, 60827, Phone: 708-841-2203
- Orland Park Police Department, 15700 S. Ravinia, Orland Park, Illinois, 60462, Phone: 708-349-4111
- Midlothian Police Department, 14801 S. Pulaski Road, Midlothian, Illinois 60445, Phone: 708-389-0200
- Dolton Police Department 14014 Park Avenue, Dolton, Illinois, 60419, Phone: 708-841-2145
Source: villageofparkforest.com
