Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Stephen M. Wagstaffe, District Attorney
Subject: Agreement with the City of Redwood City for Firearm Relinquishment and Enforcement Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Measure K: Adopt a resolution authorizing the District Attorney, or designee, to negotiate and execute an agreement with the City of Redwood City to provide firearm relinquishment and enforcement services to support the San Mateo County Gun Relinquishment Task Force, for the term of February 24, 2025 to February 24, 2026, in an amount not to exceed $350,000 along with two options to extend the agreement for one year per option, in an amount of $350,000 for each option, if exercised, at the sole discretion of the District Attorney or designee.
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BACKGROUND:
On March 11, 2022, San Mateo County hosted the “Getting Prohibited Guns off the Street: Firearm Relinquishment in San Mateo County” forum, where Attorney General Rob Bonta spoke about the importance of getting prohibited guns off the streets, legislation in place and/or being developed to assist in this effort, efforts already in practice in San Mateo County, and opportunities to further success in these efforts.
Following the forum, the County launched its Gun Violence Prevention Program, which included the creation of the Gun Relinquishment Task Force (GRTF), which prevents violence and improves public safety by removing guns from people who are prohibited from having them, either because of a restraining order or a felony charge.
The District Attorney’s Office partnered with the City of San Mateo and the City of South San Francisco to provide peace officers to staff the GRTF. Through a partnership with the Superior Court, between October 1, 2022, and October 31, 2024, the program facilitated the relinquishment or seizure of 461 firearms in civil restraining order cases, including 260 pistols, 139 rifles, and 62 shotguns. During the first 13 months of the program, 93 firearms were relinquished by 32 individuals. Most program-funded cases were civil domestic violence restraining orders (68 percent). Of those that voluntarily relinquished their firearm, 49 percent relinquished to a licensed gun dealer and 51 percent relinquished to law enforcement. These numbers are not representative of all the cases reviewed, as they were taken from a Judicial Council Report (link: https://courts.ca.gov/sites/default/files/courts/default/2024-12/lr-2024-allocation-of-funding-fy-2023-24-court-based-firearm-relinquishment-program.pdf) that excluded data based on legislative funding requirement.
The agreement with the City of San Mateo to provide Detective staff for the program was recently extended by the Board to be in effect through November 20, 2026. Given that the City of South San Francisco is no longer able to provide staff support for the program, the City of Redwood City has offered to assign Detective personnel to fulfill this role.
DISCUSSION:
The District Attorney’s Office is requesting to enter into an agreement with the City of Redwood City to provide firearm relinquishment and enforcement services for the term of February 24, 2025 to February 24, 2026 in an amount not to exceed $350,000 along with two options to extend the agreement for one year per option, in an amount of $350,000 for each option, if exercised, at the sole discretion of the District Attorney or designee. This agreement was approved by the Redwood City Council on June 9th, 2025.
The purpose of the Gun Violence Prevention Program (GVPP) and the Gun Relinquishment Task Force (GRTF) is to enhance voluntary compliance of all qualifying restraining orders with firearm prohibitions, and those who are prohibited from possessing firearms in San Mateo County.
Responsibilities of the GRTF will include the intake and review of qualifying orders from Court and triage level of qualifying order and prohibited person(s). When appropriate, the lowest level of voluntary compliance inquiries will be made. When initial attempts at voluntary compliance are not successful, additional research will be conducted. The GVPP Detectives will be responsible for coordinating with the venue agency (agency with jurisdiction where the prohibited person resides) and the GVPP Detectives will be responsible for seeking additional court orders as needed (e.g., search warrants, anticipatory search warrants, probation, or parole authorization.)
County Attorney has reviewed and approved the resolution and the agreement as to form.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
Target |
|
Review qualifying orders from the court. |
100% |
|
Conduct a query of the Automated Firearms System (AFS) to determine past or present firearms ownership by the Respondent. |
100% |
|
If AFS reveals firearm ownership by the Respondent, conduct a follow-up investigation to verify the current location and/or status of the firearms. |
100% |
|
Document follow-up investigations and any actions taken in an investigative report. |
100% |
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
By focusing on enforcing firearm relinquishment laws, especially for individuals who pose a threat due to domestic violence or other prohibitions, the program helps safeguard vulnerable populations, such as survivors of domestic violence and individuals at heightened risk of gun violence. The GRTF works to ensure that all communities within San Mateo County-regardless of their location, socioeconomic status, or demographic makeup-benefit from the program.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Program will cost $350,000 along with two options to extend the agreement for one year per option, in an amount of $350,000 for each option for a total of an additional cost of $1,050,000 over three years. Adequate funding has been included in the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Measure K budget and will be included in the 2025-2026 Measure K recommended Budget.