SAN JOSE — Armed with Target gift cards, the San Jose Police Department and other Santa Clara County agencies hope to take hundreds of unwanted firearms off the street with a gun buyback event set for Saturday.

This year, the buyback will be held at the SJPD substation on Great Oaks Parkway in South San Jose. It had previously been held at the PAL Stadium grounds off Interstate 680.

Authorities are offering $100 gift cards for handguns, rifles and shotguns, and $200 cards for what police describe as “assault weapons.”

Buyback organizers say the event is driven by their observations that many city and county residents have guns that they no longer use or maintain, just sitting in their homes in storage or collecting dust.

“The majority of people who come to these things have been legitimate citizens really concerned about having a firearm that they don’t need,” SJPD Capt. Ed Schroder said. “They need a mechanism to get rid of guns in a safe manner.”

Schroder also added that to encourage submissions, the gun-gift card exchange will occur with no collection of personal information.

“This is anonymous,” he said. “No questions asked.”

In the event that a firearm is later determined to be stolen, police will try to return the weapon to its rightful owner. The rest will be destroyed.

Johnny Gogo, a community-focused prosecutor for the District Attorney’s Office who has helped organize previous buybacks, revived the theme of stolen weapons in touting the event’s crime-prevention effect.

“None of these (collected) firearms will ever be used in any intentional or unintentional shooting, or stolen in home burglaries and used in any crimes,” Gogo said.

That particularly resonates for Schroder, who alluded to a spike in police officer deaths across the country over last year.

“We are concerned about these guns being used against our officers,” Schroder said. “We need to get these off the streets.”

Gogo said that since 2013, five buyback events held by SJPD and the Sheriff’s Office have collected 2,500 firearms.

Those interested in surrendering a firearm for the buyback are advised to transport them unloaded in the trunk of a car; no walk-up contributions will be accepted. Any weapons must be functional to be eligible for a gift card, and cards may be limited for people with multiple weapons — that is, cards won’t necessarily be given on a one-to-one gun basis to accommodate as wide a number of contributors as possible.

The gift cards are paid for by asset-forfeiture funds from the District Attorney’s Office and SJPD, as well as donations collected by the San Jose Police Foundation. Other event sponsors include the offices of San Jose City Councilman Ash Kalra, Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman and Assemblyman Mark Stone, as well as First 5 Santa Clara County and The Health Trust.

SAN JOSE GUN BUYBACK EVENT

When: Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: San Jose Police Department training substation, 6087 Great Oaks Pkwy., San Jose

Rates: $100 Target gift cards exchanged for handguns, rifles and shotguns; $200 cards exchanged for “assault” style weapons

Requirements: Firearms must be functional and transported unloaded in the trunk of a vehicle. NO walk-up contributions allowed.