SANTA CRUZ – On January 16-17, 2018, California Department of Justice (DOJ) special agents worked with local law enforcement officers in Santa Cruz County, conducting a firearms recovery operation. Special agents with the DOJ Bureau of Firearms, along with Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies, and Santa Cruz and Wantsonville police, were investigating people prohibited from owning a firearm due to certain criminal, mental or domestic violence history.

The special agents, deputies and officers checked 47 locations, investigated, and closed 31 Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS) cases. During their operation they seized one semi-automatic handgun and arrested one person who was not allowed to have a gun due to a domestic violence restraining order.

APPS is a state database that cross checks the owners of firearms in California against criminal history records, mental health records, and restraining orders to identify those who are prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The operation conducted in Santa Cruz county was a scheduled compliance measure and not in response to any tips, threats, or incidents, according to the Santa Cruz County Law Enforcement Chief’s Association.

“This is a particularly dangerous part of the job for any special agent, deputy, or officer,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. “They are approaching people and or residences where firearms, and people who are prohibited from firearms, are known to be present.”