2014 Indiana Code TITLE 35. CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE ARTICLE 47. WEAPONS AND INSTRUMENTS OF VIOLENCE CHAPTER 3. DISPOSAL OF CONFISCATED WEAPONS
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IC 35-47-3
Chapter 3. Disposal of Confiscated Weapons
IC 35-47-3-1
Disposal of confiscated weapons in accordance with chapter
Sec. 1. All firearms confiscated pursuant to statute shall, upon
conviction of the person for the offense for which the confiscation
was made, be disposed of in accordance with this chapter.
As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.32.
IC 35-47-3-2
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.
(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, other appropriate training activities
fund, or any other fund that may be used by the receiving
law enforcement agency for the purchase and maintenance
of firearms, ammunition, vests, and other law enforcement
equipment; and
(ii) used by the agency exclusively to train law
enforcement officers in the proper use of firearms or other
law enforcement duties, and to purchase and maintain
firearms, ammunition, vests, and other law enforcement
equipment.
A law enforcement agency may not sell a firearm to the general
public if the firearm is unsafe to operate because it has been
damaged or altered.
(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, other appropriate training activities
fund, or any other fund that may be used by the receiving
law enforcement agency for the purchase and maintenance
of firearms, ammunition, vests, and other law enforcement
equipment; and
(ii) used by the agency exclusively to train law
enforcement officers in the proper use of firearms or other
law enforcement duties, and to purchase and maintain
firearms, ammunition, vests, and other law enforcement
equipment.
A law enforcement agency may sell a firearm to a licensed
firearms dealer for salvage or repair, even if the firearm is
unsafe to operate because it has been damaged or altered.
(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. A firearm that is to be destroyed
may be sold to a salvage company and destroyed by dismantling
the firearm for parts, scrap metal, or recycling, or for resale as
parts for other 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 addition, the receiving
law enforcement agency may, at its discretion, jointly sell firearms it
has received with another law enforcement agency, or permit another
law enforcement agency to sell firearms it has received on behalf of
the receiving law enforcement agency. 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; P.L.119-2012,
SEC.167; P.L.157-2014, SEC.2.
IC 35-47-3-3
Application of section to firearms required to be registered in
National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; return of
firearms to rightful owners; unreturnable firearms; registry of
firearms; disposal
Sec. 3. (a) This section applies to firearms that are 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 such return has not already
occurred under the terms of IC 35-33-5, and if such owner remains
lawfully entitled to possess such firearms according to applicable
United States and Indiana statutes. If rightful ownership is not
known, the law enforcement agency holding the firearm shall make
a reasonable and diligent effort to ascertain the rightful ownership
and cause the return of the firearm being held, providing the owner
remains lawfully entitled to possess such firearms.
(c) Firearms that are not returnable under this section shall be at
once delivered to:
(1) the sheriff's department of the county in which the offense
occurred, unless subdivision (2) applies; or
(2) 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 six hundred
thousand (600,000);
following final disposition of the cause.
(d) When firearms are sent to a law enforcement agency under
subsection (c), the law enforcement agency may upon request release
the firearms 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.
(e) The receiving law enforcement agency or laboratory shall
cause the registry of such firearms in the United States National
Firearms Registration and Transfer Record within thirty (30) days
following receipt from the court.
(f) The court may order such firearms as are not returnable
destroyed, specifying the exact manner of destruction and requiring
the receiving law enforcement agency or laboratory to make due
return to the ordering court the time, date, method of destruction, and
disposition of the remains of the destroyed firearm.
(g) No portion of this section shall be construed as requiring the
receiving law enforcement agency or laboratory to retain firearms
which are inoperable or unserviceable, or which the receiving law
enforcement agency or laboratory may choose to transfer as public
property in the ordinary course of lawful commerce and exchange.
As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.32. Amended by P.L.209-1986,
SEC.3; P.L.57-1992, SEC.8; P.L.119-2012, SEC.168.
IC 35-47-3-4
Unlawful delivery of confiscated firearm
Sec. 4. A person who knowingly or intentionally:
(1) delivers a confiscated firearm to a person convicted of a
felony:
(A) involving use of a firearm; and
(B) which is the basis of the confiscation;
(2) delivers a confiscated firearm to another with knowledge
that there is a rightful owner to whom the firearm must be
returned; or
(3) fails to deliver a confiscated firearm to the sheriff's
department, a city or town police force, the state police
department laboratory or a forensic laboratory under this
chapter, the state under IC 14-22-39-6, or for disposition after
a determination that the rightful owner of the firearm cannot be
ascertained or is no longer entitled to possess the confiscated
firearm;
commits a Level 6 felony.
As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.32. Amended by P.L.209-1986,
SEC.4; P.L.57-1992, SEC.9; P.L.1-1995, SEC.77; P.L.158-2013,
SEC.588.
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