Application of section to firearms not required to be registered in
National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; return of
firearms to rightful owners; disposal procedure
Sec. 2. (a) This section applies only to firearms which are not
required to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and
Transfer Record.
(b) Firearms shall be returned to the rightful owner at once
following final disposition of the cause if a return has not already
occurred under the terms of IC 35-33-5. If the rightful ownership is
not known the law enforcement agency holding the firearm shall
make a reasonable attempt to ascertain the rightful ownership and
cause the return of the firearm. However, nothing in this chapter
shall be construed as requiring the return of firearms to rightful
owners who have been convicted for the misuse of firearms. In such
cases, the court may provide for the return of the firearm in question
or order that the firearm be at once delivered:
(1) except as provided in subdivision (2), to the sheriff's
department of the county in which the offense occurred; or
(2) to the city or town police force that confiscated the firearm,
if:
(A) a member of the city or town police force confiscated
the firearm; and
(B) the city or town has a population of more than two
thousand five hundred (2,500) and less than two hundred
fifty thousand (250,000).
(c) The receiving law enforcement agency shall dispose of
firearms under subsection (b), at the discretion of the law
enforcement agency, not more than one hundred twenty (120) days
following receipt by use of any of the following procedures:
(1) Public sale of the firearms to the general public as follows:
(A) Notice of the sale shall be:
(i) posted for ten (10) days in the county courthouse in a
place readily accessible to the general public; and
(ii) advertised in the principal newspaper of the county for
two (2) days in an advertisement that appears in the
newspaper at least five (5) days prior to the sale.
(B) Disposition of the firearm shall be by public auction in
a place convenient to the general public, with disposition
going to the highest bidder. However, no firearm shall be
transferred to any bidder if that bidder is not lawfully
eligible to receive and possess firearms according to the laws
of the United States and Indiana.
(C) All handguns transferred under this subdivision shall
also be transferred according to the transfer procedures set
forth in this article.
(D) Money collected pursuant to the sales shall first be used
to defray the necessary costs of administering this
subdivision with any surplus to be:
(i) deposited into the receiving law enforcement agency's
firearms training fund, if the law enforcement agency is a
county law enforcement agency, or into a continuing
education fund established under IC 5-2-8-2, if the law
enforcement agency is a city or town law enforcement
agency; and
(ii) used by the agency exclusively for the purpose of
training law enforcement officers in the proper use of
firearms or other law enforcement duties, if the law
enforcement agency is a county law enforcement agency,
or for law enforcement purposes, if the law enforcement
agency is a city or town law enforcement agency.
(2) Sale of the firearms to a licensed firearms dealer as follows:
(A) Notice of the sale must be:
(i) posted for ten (10) days in the county courthouse in a
place readily accessible to the general public; and
(ii) advertised in the principal newspaper of the county for
two (2) days in an advertisement that appears in the
newspaper at least five (5) days before the sale.
(B) Disposition of the firearm shall be by auction with
disposition going to the highest bidder who is a licensed
firearms dealer.
(C) Money collected from the sales shall first be used to
defray the necessary costs of administering this subdivision
and any surplus shall be:
(i) deposited into the receiving law enforcement agency's
firearms training fund or other appropriate training
activities fund; and
(ii) used by the agency exclusively for the purpose of
training law enforcement officers in the proper use of
firearms or other law enforcement duties.
(3) Sale or transfer of the firearms to another law enforcement
agency.
(4) Release to the state police department laboratory or other
forensic laboratory administered by the state or a political
subdivision (as defined in IC 36-1-2-13) for the purposes of
research, training, and comparison in conjunction with the
forensic examination of firearms evidence.
(5) Destruction of the firearms.
(d) Notwithstanding the requirement of this section mandating
disposal of firearms not more than one hundred twenty (120) days
following receipt, the receiving law enforcement agency may at its
discretion hold firearms it may receive until a sufficient number has
accumulated to defray the costs of administering this section if a
delay does not exceed one hundred eighty (180) days from the date
of receipt of the first firearm in the sale lot. In any event, all
confiscated firearms shall be disposed of as promptly as possible.
(e) When a firearm is delivered to the state police department
laboratory or other forensic laboratory under subsection (c)(4) and
the state police department laboratory or other forensic laboratory
determines the laboratory has no further need for the firearm in
question, the laboratory shall return the firearm to the law
enforcement agency for disposal under subsection (c).
As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.32. Amended by P.L.209-1986,
SEC.2; P.L.57-1992, SEC.7; P.L.48-1993, SEC.7.
Last modified: May 24, 2006