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 first anniversary of the program, county officials, courts and county law enforcement reported that between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023, the Superior Court granted 403 civil restraining orders, 65 of which included requirements to give up firearms.
Of those, the Court processed 48 "proof of compliance forms," meaning the firearms were surrendered voluntarily and documented.
In addition, it was stated that detectives followed up on the remaining 17 orders for those people to comply or, if they had moved out of the county, notified the new jurisdictions. In turn, they verified the information on the 48 “proof of compliance forms.”
As a result, 168 firearms (67 rifles or shotguns and 101 handguns) were turned over to authorities or 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. Provides security to protected parties in civil restraining order cases and to the public?
The program points to a gap in California's efforts to reduce gun violence: While many laws are in place, little funding often goes toward 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 people subject to warrants could better understand the law and simplifying how authorities are notified about warrants, said Bill Massey, chief inspector of 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 authorities 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.
Dave Pine, chairman of the Board of Supervisors who led efforts to launch the program, said the deaths of five women this year ?all a result of domestic violence? point to the 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 are doing here locally is strengthening those laws and I am delighted with the results so far. Are we literally taking guns away from people who have been ordered to hand them over?
According to information from San Mateo County, Gun Violence Prevention Program detectives from the San Mateo and South San Francisco police departments, reassigned to the District Attorney's Office, systematically review a database state that lists people known to be prohibited from possessing firearms.
Notably, the county has contracted with the UC Davis Violence Prevention Program to evaluate its effectiveness.
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