Gun Amnesty Month is officially over and the New Westminster Police Department has deemed it a success, after recovering more than a dozen firearms in June.
During the month-long campaign, seven rifles and 10 handguns were turned in to the New Westminster Police Department. Among the rifles recovered were a pair of semi-automatics, several bolt-action firearms, as well as a lever action rifle and a single shot rifle. There were also four semi-automatic handguns and five revolvers turned in.
"We're quite happy with the amount of firearms and ammunition turned in," Staff Sgt. Paul Hyland told The Record. "That's 17 firearms that are now off the street. Seventeen firearms that couldn't be used for a bad purpose."
But not everyone thinks the gun amnesty program is such a great thing.
Simon Fraser University professor emeritus Gary Mauser, who is an anti-gun registry advocate, released a statement denouncing the gun amnesty program because it improperly targets gun owners who may not want to give up their firearms.
"It is poor policy for the police to ask citizens to surrender potentially valuable firearms without offering reimbursement," Mauser said in the release.
In a phone interview with The Record, Mauser said the police should offer alternatives to simply turning in unwanted firearms. Many old firearms, especially riffles, could potentially be valuable and be sold to gun clubs or donated to museums, he added.
What's more, Mauser said the campaign is highly unlikely to have an impact on violent crime because criminals won't be turning in their guns to police.
Hyland agreed, somewhat, but added that the program isn't meant to encourage criminals to bring in their guns or weapons.
"The reality is what we're trying to do is that people who don't have any use for the firearms are turning it in so they don't end up in the hands of criminals, so they don't get stolen," Hyland said. "The goal is to get guns off the street."
And Hyland said that having 17 fewer guns to worry about is a good thing for both public and officer safety.
The local department also recovered 148 shotgun shells and 394 rounds of ammunition during the provincially mandated program. Hyland added that if people have firearms or ammunition they want to get rid off, they can always contact the New West department about turning them in.
The department can be reached at 604-525-5411.
