The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office may be one of the first law enforcement agencies statewide to provide its deputies with gun vaults in their personal cars to store their department-issued firearms.
The vaults will “significantly reduce the risk of guns falling into the hands of criminals,” Sheriff Laurie Smith said during a news conference Thursday morning at the county’s Fleet Management facility in North San Jose.
Installations are underway to place 750 portable gun vaults in deputies’ personal cars to help comply with Senate Bill 869, which was signed into law last week.
The bill builds on existing law that requires anyone who leaves a handgun unguarded in a car to either lock the weapon in the trunk or place it in a locked container that’s not easily visible.
The law goes into effect in January and violators can face a $1,000 fine, said state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, who authored the bill. Hill said he hasn’t heard of another agency besides the Sheriff’s Office that has provided deputies with gun vaults while off duty.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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