The timing of the Chicago Police Department’s two gun turn-ins Saturday was intentional.
During the late days of December around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when schools are shut down and offices sit mostly empty, many people spend more time at home. Lots of folks also visit the homes of relatives this time of year.
Thus during the holidays, many have more chances to stumble upon guns kept at home — guns their owners may have even forgotten about, said Glen Brooks, director of community policing for the department.
“There’s more people home. More people have an opportunity to find those forgotten weapons,” Brooks said Saturday morning at a church in Englewood where one of the turn-ins took place. “We want to give people an opportunity to make their homes and their communities as safe as possible.”
The other turn-in, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. like the one in Englewood, was at the House of Hope in Pullman. Brooks said the department’s next turn-ins will be in May, right before the summer.