B.C. gun amnesty nets 1,184 unwanted firearms
People across the province had October to turn in weapons, no questions asked
A total of 1,184 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition were turned into police across B.C. during last month's gun amnesty, the RCMP reported on Thursday.
The list of unwanted weapons recovered included 543 rifles, 223 shotguns and 222 handguns, as well as some explosives and a large number of replica firearms.
"I'm pretty happy with the results that we had here," said B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Morris.
"All of these weapons in the wrong hands would result in tragedy. There's no question in my mind."
The amnesty allowed people to turn in guns without facing weapons-related Criminal Code charges.
"Unless one of these guns has been used in the commission of a crime, it's simply no questions asked," said deputy commissioner Craig Callens, commanding officer of the RCMP in B.C.
Lots of calls
Throughout the month of October, there were 690 requests for police to collect firearms, weapons or ammunition from households in B.C.
"The intent of this program is not to remove weapons from licensed gun owners who are lawfully in possession of their weapons and who want to keep them," said Chief Constable Les Sylven, president of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police.
"This amnesty was designed for those people who had weapons they no longer wanted or needed and chose to take advantage of a safe way to voluntarily dispose of them."
Kelowna turns in most
In Kelowna, 109 firearms were surrendered, the largest number from any one municipality, according to firearms' amnesty final numbers.
The number of weapons recovered in Surrey was 74. In Vancouver, it was 46.
"Some of these weapons may have come into the possession of people during a time when different rules applied," said Slyven.
"In the 1920s, 1930s, perhaps when regulations were a little different. And as time has changed, so have the rules, and people have found themselves in possession of something that was no longer lawful."
Weapons will be destroyed
The overwhelming majority of the confiscated weapons will be destroyed, according to the RCMP.
"At minimum, they would be cut down into pieces of a size that would make it impossible for them to be utilized again," said Callens.
"There will be the rare instance where there will be some intrinsic value in some of the firearms that have been recovered and that will be assessed by firearm specialists."
While amnesty month is over, there's nothing to prevent the public from continuing to contact police to dispose of unwanted firearms.
"Police will use their discretion when dealing with any future requests," said Callens.