By Redaccion
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Today in a unanimous vote during the regular meeting, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved a new position within the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Investigation.
This position, a Crime Analyst II, will be funded by a California AB 178 Firearms Relinquishment Grant.
In 2022, the District Attorney’s Office partnered with the Ventura County Superior Court and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to seek competitive grant funding from the California Judicial Council to remove firearms from prohibited persons. Prohibited persons include people convicted of a felony; persons subject to a domestic violence restraining order, a gun violence restraining order, or a civil protective order; and persons subject to a mental health prohibition. Ventura County was one of seven grant awardees and received over $1.4 million dollars through fiscal year 2024-2025.
The firearm relinquishment program in Ventura County is a unique partnership between the Ventura County Superior Court, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Investigation. The program ensures the safe removal of firearms from individuals who become prohibited from possessing firearms pursuant to a court order.
“All too often, our local police officers respond to calls for service involving dangerous individuals that should not be in possession of firearms.,” said District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. “This new position will allow us to better enforce firearm restrictions against prohibited persons that are at risk of hurting themselves or others.”
The Bureau of Investigation is a subrecipient of the grant administered by the Ventura County Superior Court. Acceptance of the grant funding was authorized by the Board of Supervisors as part of the adopted annual budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
The Firearms Relinquishment Grant also funds an investigator position within the Bureau of Investigation. The crime analyst will provide investigative analytical support to the grant funded investigator. This will include logging incoming cases and obtaining all relevant police reports and court orders. The analyst will gather raw data from a variety of law enforcement sources and convert that data into common information and trends among the different agencies. Having a dedicated position completing these critical and time-consuming tasks will free up the investigator to conduct relinquishment activities.
“California law enforcement is still playing catch up with all the red flag gun laws,» said Chief Investigator Scott Whitney. “We’re working with our criminal justice partners in Ventura County to bring about more understanding of these laws, and to close compliance and enforcement gaps.”
The crime analyst position will be grant funded from December 5, 2023, to June 30, 2025.
A better public understanding of the firearm relinquishment laws improves public safety. Any individuals or groups that are interested in more information regarding domestic violence restraining orders, gun violence restraining orders, mental health prohibitions, and other gun prohibitions may contact the District Attorney’s Office Communication Manager, Joey Buttitta, by calling (805) 767-3400.
