May 11, 2009 11:27 am US/Pacific
Take A Peek Inside LAPD's Evidence Locker
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Last year, the LAPD booked approximately 6,800 total firearms.
CBS
Often times, the most crucial piece of evidence in a murder case is the weapon used. The LAPD keeps confiscated firearms under secure lock and key - a place where most officers don't even have access. In a CBS 2 Exclusive, Suzie Suh takes a look inside the evidence room.
Behind crimes – unimaginable – murders, assaults and robberies… a smoking gun is often times the biggest piece of evidence.
LAPD Chief of Detectives, Charlie Beck: "They were stolen, they were borrowed, they fell into the wrong hands for whatever reason."
And here… at LAPD Central Property Division, the inventory of firearms confiscated from criminals.
Officer: "Last year, the department booked approximately 6800 total firearms."
Seemingly endless.
Beck: "If it wasn't for the ready access of firearms like you see around me, we would not have the murder rate that we have."
After passing through tight security, our camera was allowed into an area restricted to most, even in the department.
Officer: "Approximately 23,000 square feet of storage" according to an officer.
Inside walls of weapons, racks of rifles.
Officer: "This would be like a variation of what people would call an AK47.
And a collection of calibers…
Officer: AR15's. This is actually a 50 caliber sniper rifle.
You won't find at your local gun store.
Officer: This is an attempt by someone to make a flash suppressor or a silencer for this particular weapons. They took a plastic bottle – like a water bottle, put it over.
They are all weapons, attached to pending cases. Evidence that won't be destroyed until cases are resolved. And that's just one glimpse of the property room.
In other corners… everything else you can imagine.
Remember the Robert Blake case? Bonnie Lee Bakley's murder remains unsolved.
Officer: This whole rack was put together so that we could store her things.
Officials say, especially with the guns, stricter enforcement and enhanced laws have brought the numbers street weapons down over the years by using programs, like Gun BuyBack their aiming to bear arms against violence.
Beck: "Almost 90% of our murders are by firearm. All I'm interested in is the gun, and getting the gun off the streets."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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