THERE are more than a hundred guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition that won't fall into the wrong hands or be used to hurt someone on the North Shore, thanks to a successful haul in the provincial gun amnesty.
Throughout the month of June, police forces around the province offered to come collect any unwanted firearms, no questions asked.
North Vancouver RCMP netted 90 rifles, shotguns, pistols and pellet guns and the West Vancouver Police Department collected 33 guns, contributing to the 1,801 firearms collected provincewide.
Neither jurisdiction on the North Shore brought in any heavy weaponry like the machine gun turned over to Kelowna RCMP or military missile picked by Abbotsford police, though there have been some interesting antiques picked up. Among them: a Second World War .303 Lee Enfield belonging to a local veteran and a Russian Mosin Nagant sniper rifle. Though not technically picked up in the amnesty, West Vancouver is researching the historical value of a 1914 Webley revolver found by kids playing in a wooded area last month.
All of the guns will be catalogued and researched before being disassembled for scrap metal. Groups interested in the historical arms will have a chance to request them after guns have had their firing pins removed.
In many cases, the guns belonged to seniors who no longer can use them or they were inherited by people who aren't licensed to own them, according to Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman
By collecting the guns, police remove any chance they will be found by a child, stolen in a break-in, or misused in the home.
"Any time police go to a domestic situation, firearms are paramount in our thoughts," De Jong said. "That's 90 firearms we don't have to worry about."
There is no reason to suspect any of the guns collected by West Vancouver constables were ever used in a crime, said Const. Jeff Palmer West Vancouver police spokesman.
But he said officers are still glad to have the guns locked away.
Turning unwanted guns over to police also results in huge peace of mind for families who don't want the burden and stress of having them around, Palmer said.
Even though the amnesty is officially over, police will always make the effort to come collect a gun, said DeJong.
