Well, Duh!

Gun buy-backs don't really affect street crime. For starters, the price paid is often ridiculously low for a functioning firearm, and criminals don't want to show up around the police with a gun.

It looks like the folks in New Orleans are learning that lesson.

(New Orleans) -- Give up your guns and get some greenbacks. Nice concept, but not for cutting down street crime according to law enforcement experts interviewed by ABC26 News today.

Clergy members and cops today announced another gun buy-back event scheduled for next month, but one gun guru and deputy chief say such programs don't necessarily stamp out street crime.

District Attorney investigator, firearms instructor and contracted fugitive transporter, Michael Jurina said buy-back programs are great for getting guns from well-intentioned people who either want to get rid of a rusty weapon or avoid becoming another statistic. Jurina added the programs are best for preventing potential accidental discharges, not for stopping street crimes.

As an avid gun collector and hobbyist, I know that some guns shouldn't be fired. At some point in any gun's life it eventually becomes worn-out and unsafe. These firearms are normally relegated to a top shelf in a closet and sometimes don't see the light of day for decades. They become worthless. Moreso if it is a piece that was inexpensive when new. These are perfect pieces for a buy-back.

The problem for buy-back guns, is how to dispose of them. Certainly, any police officer who participates should do a couple of things. First, run the serial number through NCIC. If the gun is stolen, the police would certainly want to return it to it's rightful owner and investigate the person who turned it in.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, take the guns to a ballistic lab and have them test fired. Check the basic bullet markings against known gun-crime bullets in your area. The greatest irony of a gun buy-back would be to buy the gun that police have been looking for to solve a murder or string of murders. I've got to note that getting this type of data is time-consuming and that the gun has to be treated as evidence the whole time.

So, when conducting a buy-back, it's incumbent on the agency to get enough data from those turning in the gun so that they can be tracked if it turns out the gun is evidence of a crime.

Gun buy-backs are a pain in the butt for thinking police officers.

Then too, we have to remember that New Orleans is the place where the last gun confiscations happened during a natural disaster. New Orleans Police Department still has guns that they seized during the Katrina debacle and have not returned. Suits are still pending in that matter.