The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), in collaboration with participating municipal police services including the Peterborough Police Service, is holding a gun amnesty during the month of April.
The gun amnesty is for any Ontario resident who wishes to voluntarily surrender unwanted or illegally owned firearms, weapons, accessories, or ammunition.
The amnesty is a way to provide citizens with a safe way to surrender weapons and enhance public safety.
“Ontario has seen an increase in break-and-enter incidents where firearms are stolen or targeted by criminals,” says OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes.
“The OPP and our participating police partners are giving people a safe way to dispose of weapons, imitation weapons and related equipment, accessories and ammunition to reduce the number of guns in their communities.”
During the amnesty, police will not recommend weapons-related criminal code charges that might otherwise apply to people who are turning in these items.
Police note the amnesty does not apply to people who turn in weapons that have been used in the commission of a crime.
Interested gun owners are strongly urged to call the OPP’s — or their local police service’s — non-emergency number at 1-888-310-1122 to arrange for officers to attend and safely retrieve the weapons.
“The safest way to handle an unwanted or illegally-owned firearm is to turn it in for destruction,” says Chief Murray Rodd of the Peterborough Police Service. “You can help prevent those firearms from falling into the wrong hands and hurting someone unintentionally.”
No anonymous submissions will be accepted. Under no circumstances should owners attempt to deliver guns or ammunition directly to police facilities.
Gun owners can also notify police using an online form at www.opp.ca/gunamnesty.
