LOS ANGELES – On October 9, 2018, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced Operation Dual Force, a joint operation that began in June and targets individuals in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) database.  To date, Operation Dual Force has successfully closed 227 APPS cases, 35 of which resulted in arrests. Agents seized 111 firearms including seven assault weapons, 56 handguns, 21 shotguns, 24 rifles, and three lower receivers. In addition, the operation seized over 27,647 rounds of ammunition, 50 high-capacity magazines and 106 standard-capacity magazines.

“This APPS database allows agents to identify people who cannot lawfully be in possession of a firearm because they were convicted of a felony or a violent misdemeanor, placed under a domestic violence or other restraining order, or suffer from serious mental illness,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. “It’s a dangerous assignment that involves agents and officers approaching people who are in possession of firearms and who don’t want to give them up.”

The State of California is the first and only state in the nation to have established an automated system for tracking firearm owners who fall into a prohibited status.

“This operation is a prime example of how law enforcement comes together to fight crime and keep our neighborhoods safe by removing illegally-possessed guns from our communities,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Thanks to the partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, we can now hold these individuals accountable. We will continue this successful collaboration to keep guns away from people who are prohibited from owning them.”

Every day, agents at the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) work to seize firearms from individuals who shouldn’t have them. Operation Dual Force is expected to be completed in December.

These cases will be referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. This operation, as well as ongoing and day-to-day investigations, have reduced the number of individuals in the APPS database to a historic low. During the last five years, California  DOJ has removed more than 18,000 firearms from persons prohibited under California law from possessing them.