TAMPA — Hillsborough County officials said Tuesday that they will start paying tipsters $1,000 for information about an illegal gun that leads to an arrest.
The gun bounty program — part of a new partnership between the county's law enforcement agencies and Crime Stoppers Tampa Bay — is the first of its kind in Hillsborough. It was spurred by a deadly 2015, one of the area's bloodiest years in recent history.
"Every time I pick up the paper or turn on the TV and see a grieving mother … it really just breaks your heart," Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said at Tuesday's news conference. "You know that's a life and a family that's been altered forever.
"To the extent that we have to pay to get these guns off the street, we're fine doing it."
Gun-related homicides in Tampa surged to 26 last year after averaging 17 over the past five years, according to the Tampa Police Department. The increase, police officials said, is directly linked to the number of illegal guns on the streets.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office investigated 18 gun-related homicides in 2015, but said Tuesday it could not provide data for previous years.
But together, officials said, Tampa police officers and Hillsborough sheriff's deputies investigated more than 1,500 criminal offenses involving a firearm in 2015.
While officials have previously tried gun buy-back programs — Tampa police collected more than 500 guns in a June effort funded by a $50,000 donation from the Tampa Bay Lightning — the gun bounty program is a first for this side of the bay.
Unlike the buy-back, which offered $50 to residents who handed over unwanted but functioning firearms, the bounty program specifically targets guns owned by criminals that could be used in future crimes.
Other jurisdictions have conducted similar initiatives with varying success, including Pinellas County and the cities of St. Petersburg and Miami.
To qualify for the money, tipsters must offer information that leads to an arrest that results in the recovery of an illegal gun and a weapons charge. If all that happens, callers get the cash. Tipsters may also remain anonymous.
"Sadly, we hear almost every day of tragic events that needlessly snuff out a life or injure our families, children or friends," Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober said. "These events are perpetrated by criminals with illegal firearms."
In the past two years, more than 900 guns were reported stolen in Tampa. It's impossible to say how many of those guns were used in crimes, officials said, because the weapons are seldom recovered.
The Tampa Police Department donated $20,000 to the cause. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office gave $15,000 and the city of Tampa gave $10,000. None of that is taxpayer money. The $10,000 the city gave was part of a gift Lightning owner Jeff Vinik gave the city after the NHL playoffs.
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Explore all your optionsThat's the seed money. The program will be sustained by a $40 fee paid by defendants in pretrial diversion programs, which could generate around $60,000 annually.
Contact Caitlin Johnston at cjohnston@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3401. Follow @cljohnst.