Police departments throughout British Columbia will collect unwanted and unauthorized guns from the public during a firearms amnesty in June 2013.

The program, announced at a meeting of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, will help remove the firearms from the community, reducing the risk of them falling into the hands of criminals. It is also expected to generate tips on illegal firearms and promote goodwill between police and local communities.

For the entire month of June, people who want to surrender ammunition or weapons, including imitations and replicas, can contact their local police and provide basic information on the items they want to surrender. Police will visit residences to pick up the firearms, so the public should not bring the guns or ammunition to the police themselves. The amnesty will not apply to weapons or firearms used for a criminal purpose.

Similar programs in 1997, 1998 and 2006 successfully removed thousands of guns from B.C. streets. During the four-week, provincewide gun amnesty in 2006, British Columbians turned over 3,213 guns including 505 handguns, and 725 other unwanted weapons to police departments, as well as 96,500 rounds of ammunition, a rocket launcher and a machine gun.

This year's initiative is endorsed by the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police and will be led by RCMP E-Division on behalf of the provincial RCMP, and supported by all the municipal police departments in British Columbia.

Quotes:

Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond -

"It's vital to take guns off our streets and avoid tragedies that can tear families apart."

"As we've seen from the thousands of guns and rounds of ammunition that previous amnesty months have taken off our streets, this is a great partnership between police forces and British Columbians that provides an opportunity to work together to reduce crime and make our province safer."

Deputy Commissioner Craig Callens, Commanding Officer of the RCMP in British Columbia -

"Guns, whether hand guns or rifles, can inflict significant harm very quickly and whether it's highly publicized acts of gun violence or accidental shootings the impact remains the same. When people turn in unwanted firearms, they are permanently eliminating the danger that weapon poses."

Inspector Brad Haugli, British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police president -

"The BCACP is proud to support this amnesty. The simple fact is that every gun turned in to police in June will be one less gun that could fall into the hands of criminals. Every police officer knows that preventing crime and violence is the best way to build safer communities."

Quick Facts:

• The RCMP is responsible for the Canadian Firearms Program and provides direct operational and technical firearms-related support to law enforcement across Canada.

• According to the RCMP, about 5.3 per cent of British Columbians have a firearms licence, slightly below the national average of 5.7 per cent.

• StatsCan reports that in 2011, 158 homicides (27 per cent) in Canada were committed with firearms.

Contact:

Ministry of Justice
Government Communications and Public Engagement
250 356-6961