During the month of October , D.I.S.A.R.M officers confiscated 96 weapons — including 43 handguns and 12 rifles/shotguns, seized nearly $8.1 million in illegal drugs including 705 lbs of marijuana, and arrested 172 probationers during 1,748 unannounced searches of residences, persons, vehicles, and businesses, announced Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.
The searches were conducted through the Probation Department’s D.I.S.A.R.M. (Developing Increased Safety through Arms Reduction Management) program, initiated by Supervisor Antonovich following the tragic August 1999 shootings at the North Valley Jewish Community Center and the murder of a postal worker by Buford Furrow, an armed felon on probation from Washington State.
The D.I.S.A.R.M program entails pairing Deputy Probation Officers with local law enforcement personnel to perform unannounced searches of probationers and their homes, as a condition of probation, and targets the confiscation of guns, drugs, and other contraband.
Since its implementation in February of 2000, the D.I.S.A.R.M. program has seized 3,529 weapons and more than 286 million dollars in illegal drugs and drug money, and resulted in 8,520 arrests. 25% of probationers in this program have been out of compliance with their terms of probation.