Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big supporter of our Second Amendment right to protect ourselves with a firearm. Very often, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy—or gal—with a gun. It is illegal for bad guys, convicted felons who have not had their rights restored, to possess a firearm—but of course, a law won’t stop someone with bad intent from using a firearm in a crime.
Fortunately, Polk County is a very safe place to live, work, play, and visit—our crime is at a 51-year-low and our crime rate is about half of the overall Florida crime rate. But there’s always room for improvement – and one way to keep Polk County safe is to get illegally owned or possessed firearms off the streets.
We all know that guns don’t commit violent crimes, people commit violent crimes. And we know that there are plenty of folks out there who know who the bad guys are in their area—and they know if the bad guys have guns or not.
In 2010, we partnered with Heartland Crime Stoppers and created the “Gun Crimes Bounty Program” which rewards anonymous callers who alert law enforcement to the presence of illegally possessed firearms.
If you have information about anyone violating firearm laws, contact Heartland Crime Stoppers – which is completely anonymous - tell us who and where they are, give us as much information as you can, and we will investigate. If we find someone illegally possessing a gun, we will arrest them and give the tipster who relayed the information $500 cash.
There’s a simple math solution easy to remember assigned to this program: Firearm + Felon = $500.00.
All calls will remain confidential and no one will ever ask any caller for their name or phone number. Callers will not be required to testify in court on related cases. Visit www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com for information on how to submit anonymous tips, or call 1-800-226-TIPS (8477).
We want convicted felons who illegally possess guns off the streets. It’s that simple.
