Police forces around the province are again asking residents to consider handing over any unwanted firearms to ensure they can never be a threat to public safety.
During a month-long amnesty starting Oct. 1, police will collect any guns, ammunition, replicas, air guns, crossbows, or any other weapons.
“We are making house calls. We will pick up your unwanted or unauthorized guns that you’ve never really thought about getting rid of,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman. “Now you have the opportunity, pretty much no questions asked, unless of course they have been involved in a criminal investigation.”
Weapons collected in the amnesty are typically destroyed soon after, although ones that may have historical value may be retained by the RCMP.
During the last amnesty in 2013, the province collected 1,801 firearms, 155 other weapons and approximately 30,700 rounds of ammunition. Among them were 123 rifles, shotguns, pistols and pellet guns collected by the West Vancouver Police Department and North Vancouver RCMP.
An amnesty in 2006 collected almost double that.
Most often, the guns turned in belonged to people who used to hunt or collect firearms and have given up the hobby or died, leaving family members unsure of what to do with them. Gun owners must be licensed in Canada.
“It reduces the risk of firearms falling into the wrong hands,” said Const. Jeff Palmer, West Vancouver police spokesman.
During the last amnesty, some children playing in a wooded area near Rockridge secondary found a First World War standard issue British Webley pistol.
“It’s an antique but still functional. We still to this day don’t know how that gun came to be there, whether it was discarded after a break-and-enter or whether a young child had taken it out to play with it and forgotten it,” Palmer said.
In other cases, turning a gun over in an amnesty means it can never be reached for by a legal owner during a domestic dispute, episode of mental illness or dementia.
Just days after the 2013 amnesty ended, North Vancouver RCMP had to talk down a 95-year-old Upper Lonsdale man who took his family hostage with a handgun. He was later taken for psychiatric assessment.
While there is no upper age limit on who can legally own a gun, that’s the kind of situation the amnesty is meant to prevent, De Jong said.
“If (the guns) hadn’t been around, that most definitely wouldn’t have happened,” De Jong said.
Under no circumstances should anyone deliver firearms, weapons or ammunition to their local police HQ in person. Instead, they are asked to call their local police non-emergency line to arrange for a pick-up
“For their safety and our safety, the public shouldn’t be bringing anything to the detachment,” De Jong said.
The North Vancouver RCMP non-emergency number is 604-985-1311. West Vancouver can be contacted at 604-925-7300.
