Many factors are critical in designing a VWCP so that in the planning and staging it will fulfil the organisers' goals. This section will outline some of the most important elements in developing a VWCP, namely location, organisation, incentives, publicity, timing, identification of programme goals and objectives, firearm turn-in policies and implementation.

Location

As has been seen in the series of case studies of VWCPs, the sites for the programmes are often locations other than police stations. Especially in communities where the police are not trusted and/or for those programmes which hope to collect illegal weapons, alternate venues are preferred.

Often churches, other places of worship or community centres are used as collection sites. They provide a location which is well-known in the neighbourhood and seen as neutral. Some VWCPs, which are operated on a mobile basis, go to pre-determined locations which are announced beforehand, or, as in the case of Mozambique and Nicaragua, the organisers go to homes, community centres or areas where it is known that arms caches exist.

Prior to site selection, an analysis of the location should be conducted, which indicates the proximity of the site to schools, children, citizen traffic or areas where criminals might loiter.53 In choosing a site, thought should also be given to the ease of access for community members participating in the programme (e.g., near to public transportation). There must also be a secure area in which collected firearms can be kept prior to being taken away for storage or destruction. Other recommendations include equipping each site with a container in which firearms can be disarmed, necessary supplies, voluntary surrender forms, inventory sheets and property tags for firearm identification.

Organisation

The planning of a VWCP is extremely important. Incomplete or insufficient organisation can seriously hamper the operation of the programme. Suggestions by organisations which have conducted VWCPs generally agree on a few key areas.

First, it is important to begin planning early. The longer the period leading up to the VWCP, the greater the possibility of identifying complications, securing funding and of organising volunteers and public security officers.

It is necessary to understand the current laws and regulations in the area in which the VWCP is to be conducted. In some countries or provinces providing an amnesty requires amending existing statutes. In others the carrying of firearms in public may be prohibited and regulations must be amended or suspended to allow people to participate in the programme.

Any immunity from prosecution to be permitted during the VWCP must also be evaluated in light of existing legislation. In New Jersey, USA, for example, the relevant statute grants limited immunity to the person surrendering the firearms under the following conditions:

"Prior written notice of intent to surrender the firearm, including the proposed date and time of surrender.



The weapon is surrendered to the superintendent of the State Police or to the chief of police in the municipality in which the person surrendering the firearms resides.



The person surrendering the firearm must not already be charged with, or under investigation for, the unlawful possession of the firearm to be surrendered."54

Second, the decision on incentives to be used and the amount of money to be raised, including from whom it will be raised, must also be decided upon early in the planning of a VWCP. The options for fund-raising are quite broad. Some programmes have used donations from professional sports teams, merchandise from local stores and food vouchers, while others have combined funding received from local government with that from international donors, or have levied a surcharge on existing tax or services.55

The amount to be raised will depend largely on what type of incentive is to be offered. If in-kind (non-cash) incentives are to be used and donations of useable goods have been successful, the actual cash amount will largely be needed for promotion materials and the purchase of supplies. If, however, cash is to be used as the incentive, or to purchase non-cash vouchers or equipment, the amount raised will need to include an estimate of the number of weapons expected to be collected and the price range that is to be offered.

Third, potential sponsors of the programme should be identified and their support ascertained well in advance of the projected date. Sponsors should include local law enforcement agencies who will be responsible for securing firearms received and checking that they are not loaded and, if required by the programme organisers, functional. Police or other local security officers should also be responsible for the transport of the collected firearms to their final destination.

Other sponsors may include local politicians, civic organisations, community groups, religious leaders, corporations and local media. Each can assist in the organisation, fund-raising and publicising of the event. In the case of South Africa the certificate bearing the signature of President Nelson Mandela was given to each participant as a special incentive.

Fourth, the recruiting of volunteers and the identification of duties and responsibilities should also be confirmed early in the planning of a VWCP. Volunteers can be used to assist in publicising the event, handing out flyers and posting signs, as well as in raising funds or securing donations. On the day of the programme they are necessary to assist participants in turning in their weapons, especially in the case of those who may be reticent to approach the police officer receiving the firearms. As has been noted, VWCPs organised by communities use volunteers or religious officials to receive the firearms from participants, after which the weapon is handed to a police officer to be disabled and safely stored.

Incentives

Incentives offered vary widely between programmes. The programmes described above included incentives ranging from cash and vouchers which could be redeemed for cash, to housing or construction materials, motor vehicles, wind-up radios, shoes, used computers and computer lessons, sporting tickets, food vouchers and numerous others. The decision regarding which type of incentive to offer will often depend on the circumstances under which the VWCP is to be conducted. Those organised by governments have tended to use cash or cash vouchers, while those organised by community groups and donor agencies tend to favour non-cash incentives.

The use of cash is often discouraged, as it has on occasion been abused by gun dealers turning in surplus stocks, or middle-men using the opportunity of a bordering country to engage in arms trafficking for the purpose of selling the weapons at the buy-back.

Often, the incentive used will be determined by the sponsors and the organisations making donations. Thought should also be given to the needs of the community. Those in developing countries, for example Nicaragua and Mozambique, benefit from incentives which are useful to the participants, while the buy-back in Australia was intended to reimburse owners for the cost of the weapon they were obliged to surrender.

If cash is used, careful consideration must be given to the amount offered. Organisers often decide that non-functional weapons should be accepted, but should not be reimbursed. Australian officials used two categories of weapons: used or new (new being those which had never been fired), basing their compensation on the average sales price listed in firearms dealers' catalogues in Australia on a certain date. In Haiti, the United States army initially offered prices higher than current black market prices. As the presence of middle-men bringing in multiple weapons and suspected of trafficking weapons from the neighbouring Dominican Republic was identified, however, the prices offered were halved. Compensation rates also vary depending on the type of weapon being turned-in (handgun versus long gun) and the calibre of the weapon.

In the case of the Nicaraguan programme in which an amount of US $300 - $500 was offered to participants for use as seed money in a development project, no long-term evaluation exists of whether or not the money was used for a development project and whether any projects which were implemented were a success.

Publicity

Publicity has been identified by VWCP planners as one of the most important factors in conducting a successful programme. Without publicity there would be no participants, without participants no programme. This holds especially true for those programmes where one of the primary objectives is to increase awareness of gun violence and mishaps which may occur due to improperly stored or secured firearms in a home.

All types of media, print, television and radio should be utilised, with the focus on that forum to which the majority of the people in the community have access. Enlisting the support of local radio personalities or television news anchors may also help to increase the profile of the programme.

Publicity material should clearly state the name, date, place and time of the programme, by whom it is organised, who are eligible participants, whether or not the programme is being conducted on a 'no questions asked' or amnesty basis, what are being offered as incentives, which weapons will be accepted (functional versus non-functional or toy weapons, types and calibres, etc.) and the conditions under which the firearm must be transported to the site. Weapons should be carried unloaded and secure in a closed and fastened container (which can include a gym bag or backpack) or be transported in the boot of a vehicle. Some recommend that the weapon be handed over in a sealed transparent plastic bag to prevent any suspicion of misuse.

Duration and Timing

The duration of a VWCP is dependent on many factors, including the amount of funds raised, the size of the programme, the expectations of the organisers and logistical realities. Recent programmes have ranged from one day, as in South Africa and many local communities, to several weeks or months to one year, as in Australia.

The duration and timing of a VWCP should take into account when most people would be able to participate, and when the sites selected would be available. For these reasons, VWCPs in the United States have often been held on Saturdays, when church parking areas are usually empty, and therefore available, and many people do not have to work. This also tends to be a quiet time for local media, ensuring coverage of the event.

If the popularity of a programme exceeds expectations, the programme is often extended by the use of promissory notes, should the store of incentives have already been depleted. The programmes which have received the highest number of turned-in weapons have been those run over weeks or months rather than days. This approach has several advantages:

It allows potential participants to judge the preliminary response to the programme and, if positive, may induce them to participate also.



It permits more publicity and greater spreading by word of mouth about the programme.



It shows the commitment of the organisers to the goals of the programme and a longer-term commitment to reducing weapons in the community. The VWCP conducted in Oakland, California was part of an eighteen-month gun reduction strategy being conducted by federal, state and local agencies. The exchange programme was developed as a kick-off for the total campaign and continued for the full duration to allow people to turn in weapons.56

In the organisation of any event, it is important to consider local factors which may affect participation. In the case of weapons collection programmes this is particularly true. In planning these, organisers must be conscious of recent events which may hinder or improve the programme. Feelings regarding personal safety among the population may affect the turn-in negatively or positively. The same is true of the prevailing political situation. To have a programme which is run in adherence with local laws, the support of local government officials is necessary. Endorsement by elected or public officials can also reassure potential participants.

Thus the planning factors outlined will prove most useful to organisers when they are tailored to meet the needs of each particular programme design and not copied exactly from other, perhaps quite different, programmes.