Harris County, Texas

Houston, Texas is safer, thanks in part to the Safe Surrender program.

The Safe Surrender program in Harris County requires individuals who are the subject of a protective order in domestic violence cases to surrender their firearms to the Harris County Sheriff’s office until the case is resolved. Harris County State District Judge Judy Warne was a driving force behind firearm surrender. Judge Warne, along with members of the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and local law enforcement agencies, established the Safe Surrender Committee. The committee met monthly to find ways to decrease firearm possession among abusers.

In Texas, people who have a protective order issued against them are required by law to surrender their weapons. However, many jurisdictions, like Harris County, didn’t have a formal surrender protocol in place to enforce the law.

In October 2018, Harris County piloted the Safe Surrender program in the 280^th Family Court with the first firearm being surrendered on December 13, 2018. The Harris County Sheriff’s office led the effort along with the Domestic Violence Coordinated Council. Together they applied for a grant to fund their surrender efforts.

When they weren’t awarded the grant, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, recognizing the importance of disarming violent offenders, supported the project through the Sheriff’s department budget.

Almost a year later, in October of 2019, the Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to expand Safe Surrender to cover all 22 felony district courts in the county. The Court allocated $247,000 to fund the expansion, including two positions within the Sheriff’s office, as well as a vehicle equipped with a gun safe and gun storage equipment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed progress on expanding the program to the criminal courts but those involved are still anxious to see Safe Surrender expanded in Harris County.