By Glenn Hicks

Prince Albert part of provincial gun amnesty program

Mar 26, 2018 | 5:00 PM

If you have an unwanted gun, police can come and take it off your hands with no questions asked, as long as it has not been involved in criminal activity.

Prince Albert Police Service has joined many other police services across Saskatchewan in a month-long province-wide gun amnesty program aimed at keeping weapons out of the hands of criminals. Prince Albert Police Spokesperson Alanna Adamko said police are trying to make it easy for anyone to dispose of an unwanted gun.

“If the public has an unwanted firearm they want to have safely and responsibly disposed of, they can contact us,” Adamko told paNOW.  “Police will come collect it and dispose of it.”

The program follows a successful pilot run by Regina Police Service last year, which saw them collect 157 firearms. Now, the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police (SACP) is collectively working on the wider initiative.

“This would be perfect for example for a rural household that maybe has old guns lying around in a shop or unsecure area, and they don’t know what to do with them,” Adamko said. “Perhaps someone in the family recently passed and those guns are no longer wanted.”

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Anyone wanting to take advantage of the amnesty can call police and arrangements will be made to collect the firearms, though Adamko said as a matter of public safety people should not transport their firearms to the police station.

Firearms finding their way into the wrong hands is a big issue. The SACP said between 2012 and 2016 over a thousand incidents were reported across the province with unlawful firearms, and many of those were stolen.

“In many cases, it’s firearms being stolen from ordinary people and then being used by gangs where they’ve been modified and used in a violent crime,” Adamko said.

As long as a gun is given up voluntarily and was not associated with a previous crime, then the person turning it in will not be subject to prosecution, Adamko noted.

Managing Editor Taylor MacPherson and News Director Glenn Hicks discuss a provincial gun amnesty program announced Monday by police.

Speaking at the launch of the amnesty initiative in the provincial capital Monday, Regina’s Deputy Chief Dean Rae said the month-long initiative’s goal is to collect as many unwanted guns as possible.

“Whether [the guns] have been handed down from a grandfather, or some family member, and they no longer have any use for that and they just want to get rid of them, we’ll take them off their hands,” Rae explained.

After being checked over for any possible criminal affiliation, Rae said the guns will be destroyed.

“Sometimes these unwanted firearms and ammunition fall into the hands of people who should not have them,” RCMP Assistant Commissioner Curtis Zablocki said. “At the end, the incentive is to have safer communities in the province.”

Starting Thursday until April 27, residents are encouraged to hand over any unwanted guns to municipal police services in Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Estevan, Weyburn, Corman Park, File Hills, Dalmeny, Caronport, Wilton and Luseland.

Guns can also be turned in to RCMP and conservation officers.

–With files from 980 CJME

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow