LOS ANGELES COUNTY PROBATION DEPARTMENT’S SPECIAL ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS ASSISTS IN MULTI-AGENCY APPS OPERATION

California Attorney General inspects firearms that were seized.

LOS ANGELES—On Tuesday, February 22, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) completed a five-day sweep in Los Angeles County and removed firearms from individuals legally barred from possessing them. Los Angeles County Probation Department’s Special Enforcement Operations team assisted in the Multi-Agency APPS operation. Chief Deputy Karen Fletcher stood alongside Attorney General Bonta at the press event. “We are thankful to all the partner agencies of the operation and proud to have been a part of getting dangerous guns off the streets,” said Los Angeles County Probation Chief Deputy Karen Fletcher. “Working together, we helped make Los Angeles safer thanks to all those who put their lives on the line daily and the hard-working members of our probation team.” 

View California Attorney General Press Release below

ROB BONTA
Attorney General

Attorney General Bonta Announces Results of Multi-Agency APPS Operation in Los Angeles County

Press Release/ Attorney General Bonta Announces Results of Multi-Agency APP…

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) has completed a five-day sweep in Los Angeles County to remove firearms from individuals legally barred from possessing them. Agents from DOJ’s Bureau of Firearms (BOF) partnered on the operation with officers from the Azusa Police Department, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Pasadena Police Department, Pomona Police Department, the Los Angeles County Probation Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The sweep targeted individuals in 51 cities in Los Angeles County listed as prohibited from possessing firearms in DOJ’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS), and resulted in 13 arrests, as well as the seizure of 114 firearms, including assault weapons, ghost guns, lower receivers, handguns, rifles and shotguns, as well as 49,148 rounds of ammunition, and 87 high-capacity magazines.

“California’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System is a critical tool that makes the work of cracking down on illegal gun ownership and possession possible,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Last week, using APPS and working together with our law enforcement partners in Southern California, our teams removed 114 firearms from individuals who are no longer legally allowed to own or possess firearms or ammunition. Collaborative efforts like these increase our success in taking guns out of potentially dangerous hands, reducing gun violence, and keeping our neighborhoods safe.”

“A great display of local and state partners coordinating and cooperating to ensure prohibited persons aren’t in possession of firearms,” said LAPD Chief Michel Moore. “The LAPD supports and maintains a relationship with our local partners as well as CA DOJ to accomplish this mission on a daily basis”.

“Pasadena Police Department is excited about partnering with the California Department of Justice in an effort to stop gun violence,” said Interim Pasadena Police Chief Cheryl Moody. “This collaboration will certainly benefit those communities most impacted by individuals who illegally posses or use firearms.”

“We are thankful to all the partner agencies of the operation and proud to have been a part of getting dangerous guns off the streets,” said Los Angeles County Probation Chief Deputy Karen Fletcher. “Working together, we helped make Los Angeles safer thanks to all those who put their lives on the line daily and the hard-working members of our probation team.”

In 2006, the State of California became the first and only state in the nation to establish a system for tracking firearm owners who fall into a prohibited status.

The APPS database works to identify individuals who lawfully procured firearms and later became prohibited from owning or possessing them. In general, prohibited persons in APPS include individuals who were convicted of a felony or a violent misdemeanor, were placed under a domestic violence or other restraining order, or suffer from serious mental illness.

On February 14, 2022, Special Agents from throughout the state consolidated their investigative efforts in Los Angeles County to engage in a five-day sweep. The goal of the operation was to disarm individuals in APPS who are now prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition.

The teams thoroughly analyzed and exhausted their leads in 439 cases in 51 cities in Los Angeles County. They seized 114 firearms, including 55 handguns, 19 rifles, 15 shotguns, 17 assault weapons, and 8 ghost guns.

The operation in Los Angeles follows an APPS sweep in January in the Bay Area that resulted in the seizure of 30 firearms and eight arrests.

DOJ’s Bureau of Firearms serves the people of California through education, regulation, and enforcement actions regarding the manufacture, sale, ownership, safety training, and transfer of firearms and ammunition. BOF staff are leaders in providing firearms expertise and information to law enforcement, legislators, and the general public in a comprehensive program to promote legitimate and responsible firearms possession and use by California residents. The Bureau of Firearms is looking to hire additional Special Agents and more information on assessments for relevant job openings can be found on the California Department of Justice website here: https://oag.ca.gov/careers/exams.

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