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Firearm surrender

by Mark Rowe

Police across the North West received over 800 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition during a ‘Give Up The Gun’ firearms surrender. The haul includes a number of live and deactivated weapons including rifles, shotguns, handguns and air weapons as well as some imitation and antique firearms. The most unusual items include an replica AK-47, a number of wartime relics and a Smith & Wesson pistol.

The surrender ran from April 4 to 18, 2016, where six police forces asked the public to surrender unlawfully held or unwanted guns and ammunition, to help prevent them getting into the wrong hands. The surrender gave the public the chance to dispose of firearms or ammunition quickly and anonymously by simply taking it to a local police station and handing it in. During that period, those surrendering firearms did not face prosecution for the illegal possession. A total of 836 weapons were surrendered. In Greater Manchester, 221 weapons were handed over, with thousands of rounds of ammunition yet to be counted.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable John O’Hare said: “The 2016 firearm surrender was a remarkable success and I am delighted that we have managed to remove over 220 weapons from the streets of Greater Manchester. The surrender may be over, but our commitment to tackle gun crime is not. There will be continued efforts from GMP, our colleagues across the North West and our partners as we work together to safeguard, educate and intervene at the earliest opportunity.”

Greater Manchester Police adds that it works with the firearms licensing department and license holders to support the hundreds of law abiding citizens who already own firearms safely and legally.

ACC O’Hare added: “This is about tackling gun crime. If you are a license holder or qualified collector of firearms, please conduct regular checks to ensure your weapons are secured and cannot be tampered with.”

Members of the public can always hand weapons to the police, whether license holders or otherwise. If a weapon is discovered during a house clearance or inherited or found, do not wait for a campaign like this to get it off the streets – trained staff will always be on hand to secure unwanted weapons. Just call your local police enquiry desk or 101 for assistance.

Full breakdown for NW (weapons surrendered, excluding ammunition):

Greater Manchester: 221
Merseyside: 140
Lancashire: 139
North Wales: 116
Cheshire: 127
Cumbria: 93.

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