Destroying Evidence

A gun buyback program is a great way to destroy evidence:

Because the guns are destroyed and not tested, it’s impossible to know if any of them were ever used in crimes, Sheppard said.

“That’s part of the offer, we’re not going to check it for anything, we destroy it,” he said. “As part of our offer to bring the guns in, we’re saying there will be no questions asked. There will be no investigation about where the gun came from and what it was used for.”

Which is probably why inmates convicted of murder and other gun-related crimes were more than happy to raise money for a gun buyback:

A group of Orleans Correctional Facility inmates — some incarcerated for murder and other gun-related crimes — raised $1,050 in the prison to pay for the buyback. About 100 inmates participated in the program, raising just dollars per day, and have been dubbed the Civic Duty Initiative Team.

They are probably trying to help ensure fellow murders don't end up in the click with them. The state continues to claim that gun buyback programs get dangerous weapons off of the streets but in reality they are effective at destroying evidence of gun-related crimes. If somebody murders another person with a gun they know they can dispose of the evidence, namely the firearm, by taking it to a gun buyback program and having the state dispose of the evidence. On the other hand if a criminal is in possession of a gun that isn't evidence in a crime they will have no motivation to surrender it to the state. Why give the state a useful tool for your trade?