Sykesville Gun Turn-In: 'Our One and Only Goal is Safety in the Home'

The Sykesville Police Department is encouraging gun safety as the holiday season approaches, announcing its first annual "Safe House" gun turn-in program.

The "drop-off" site at the police station will be open on Saturday, Nov. 19 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Patch interviewed Cpl. Dave Lewis of the Sykesville Police and asked him about the first event of its kind for the Town.

Why did the Sykesville Police Department decide to host their first
gun-turn in?

"This was an idea that came to me and I bounced it off my Chief.
Our one and only goal with this program is safety in the home. No one wants to write a report that a child has been injured or killed as a result of a firearms accident."

What do you expect from the event?

"What we will be providing is a safe place to turn in any unwanted firearms, such as those that were inherited, old or damaged weapons, or just firearms that parents want to separate from their children, or any children that may visit the home. As an alternative, we will also be providing gun locks, free of charge.
We will never know if this program prevented an injury or a death."

What do you do with the guns that are turned in?

"The way I dispose of firearms that are in our property/evidence room is to cut them up with a power saw, cut off the serial number and save it."