Police to Partner with State and County Agencies to Host Gun Buyback Program July 18 in Hilo

The Hawai‘i Police Department, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Department of Law Enforcement (DLE), the Department of the Attorney General, and the Hawai‘i County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, will host a Gun Buyback Program on Saturday, July 18, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in the upper parking lot of the Hilo Police Station, located at 349 Kapiolani Street.

The no-identification-required, no-questions-asked program provides community members with a safe and anonymous way to dispose of unwanted firearms. 

Law enforcement and public health experts note that programs providing safe disposal options for unwanted firearms can help reduce risks associated with unsecured firearms, including accidental shootings, theft, and suicide. 

Community members may turn in handguns, rifles, shotguns, bump stocks, and Glock switches.

Participants may receive up to three gift cards in exchange for returned firearms: 

• $100 gift cards for handguns, rifles, shotguns, and Glock switches. 
• $200 gift cards for assault-type rifles and ghost guns. 

Ammunition will not be accepted. 

Unloaded firearms must be placed in a container or box in the trunk of the vehicle before arriving at the event. Participants must remain in their vehicles while law enforcement personnel retrieve the firearms from the vehicle’s trunk. 

Licensed firearms dealers, as well as active or retired law enforcement officers, are not eligible to participate. 

For more information about the Gun Buyback Program, please contact the Hawai‘i Police Department Firearms Section at (808) 961-2239 or at hpdfirearms@hawaiipolice.gov.