The new system alerts LA County officials to gun surrender orders

Los Angeles County has automated the process of notifying law enforcement agencies when people violating restraining orders fail to comply with judges’ orders to surrender their guns to authorities, officials announced Thursday.

First, court officials must identify which of the county’s 88 law enforcement agencies to notify of the abandonment of a firearm by searching an address for the defendant, which could take several days, LA County Superior Court Chief Judge Sergio C. Tapia II said during a news conference.

Now, “notices are sent within minutes” to the appropriate agencies, Tapia said.

“This new system is a step forward in ensuring timely, consistent and effective communication between the courts and law enforcement,” he said, “helping to remove firearms from those who are legally prohibited from possessing them.”

According to a news release, the court launched the platform, which the California Judicial Council funded with a $4.12 million grant from the LA County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office, and the LA Police Department and City Attorney’s Office.

The court also created a new portal for law enforcement that “regulates agency communications by providing jurisdictional partners with a centralized list of relevant cases for review” and allows agencies to “view violations of firearms prohibition orders in their jurisdiction.”

Luna said the new digital approach “represents a major improvement in public safety.”

“Every single one of those guns represents a potential tragedy averted or a domestic violence situation that doesn’t improve, a life that hasn’t been lost to gun violence,” he said.