MichiganRadio

Detroit gun buyback effectiveness questioned ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - Hundreds of people in Detroit lined up to sell their guns to police in a $20,000 buyback program Thursday. The idea is to get guns off the street, but not everyone agrees the strategy works.

About 800 guns of all kinds were turned in.

Police paid $25 for guns that weren't in working condition and up to $100 for two or more guns that were functional.

Eric Lambert chairs the Wayne State University Criminal Justice Program.
He believes the buyback campaign draws mostly legitimate gun owners and doesn't address the larger picture of gun trafficking.

"There are motorcycle gangs involved in it, organized crime in it," Lambert says. "There's money to be made. So I think 20 thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket to the overall problem of availability of guns throughout Metro Detroit."

The $20,000 dollars for the program was donated, but Lambert says the community should look at more effective ways to decrease gun violence.
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