A year ago, the San Mateo County launched the Gun Violence Prevention Program, a targeted effort to remove firearms from the hands of people with domestic violence, gun violence, and other civil restraining orders against them.
On the program’s first anniversary, county officials, courts, and law enforcement reported that between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023, the Superior Court granted 403 civil restraining orders, 65 of which included requirements to relinquish firearms.
Of these, the Court processed 48 “proof of compliance forms,” meaning the firearms were voluntarily surrendered and documented.
Detectives also followed up on the remaining 17 warrants to get those people to comply or, if they had moved out of the county, to notify the new jurisdictions. They also verified the information on the 48 “proof of compliance forms.”
As a result, 168 firearms (67 rifles or shotguns and 101 pistols) were turned over to law enforcement or to federally licensed firearms dealers pursuant to court orders.
“We set the bar high from the beginning,” said San Mateo Superior Court Judge Susan Greenberg. “Our high compliance rate is a significant achievement for the Gun Violence Prevention Program. It provides security to protected parties in civil restraining order cases and to the public.”
The program addresses a gap in California’s efforts to reduce gun violence: While many laws are in place, little funding is often allocated to their enforcement. The Board of Supervisors stepped in with a pledge to donate $2 million over two years to launch the local effort.
The initiative focuses on voluntary compliance: informing people that a court order requires them to give up firearms or face criminal charges.
Early efforts included revising forms so that people subject to court orders could better understand the law and streamlining the way authorities are notified of court orders, said Bill Massey, chief inspector for the District Attorney's Office.
“We have established a system that has become a model for counties across the state,” Massey said. “We are delivering on our stated priorities of reducing the time it takes law enforcement to learn of an order and increasing voluntary compliance.”
Detectives assigned to the program also receive alerts within 24 hours whenever a court order requiring the surrender of firearms is issued and begin working to encourage compliance.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Dave Pine, who led efforts to launch the program, said the deaths of five women this year — all a result of domestic violence — point to an urgent need to strengthen enforcement of existing laws and provide domestic violence survivors with the help they need to obtain restraining orders.
“California leads the nation in the number of gun laws in place,” Pine said. “What we’re doing here at the local level is strengthening those laws and I’m thrilled with the results so far. We’re literally taking guns away from people who have been ordered to turn them in.”
According to information from San Mateo County, detectives from the Gun Violence Prevention Program of the San Mateo and South San Francisco police departments, who were reassigned to the District Attorney's Office, are systematically reviewing a state database that lists individuals known to be prohibited from possessing firearms.
It is worth noting that the county has contracted with the UC Davis Violence Prevention Program to evaluate its effectiveness.
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