CHESHIRE Police is urging Warrington residents to help make the town safer by handing in unwanted firearms or ammunition as part of nationwide firearms surrender.
It can often be the case that some people have a firearm long-forgotten and gathering dust in a loft or shed, while others don’t realise the firearm they have needs to be legally registered with police. Others are acquired illegally and distributed by criminal networks to harm, threaten and intimidate.
The national firearms surrender, which runs from 13 to 26 November, gives people the chance to safely dispose of firearms or ammunition, whether held lawfully or unlawfully, without the risk of being prosecuted for illegally possessing a firearm.
Warrington residents can surrender their firearms and ammunition at Arpley Street Police Station.
A firearms surrender – as opposed to a firearms amnesty – means that people can hand in guns they should not have without being prosecuted for firearms possession (i.e. at the point of surrender). The surrender does not give an amnesty for the life of the weapon. Previous offences linked to the firearm will be investigated.
Inspector Dave Price said: “Gun crime in Cheshire is low and that’s the way we want to keep it, which is why I would urge people to use this surrender as an opportunity to handover any unwanted firearms, whether that’s an illegal firearm that they have in their possession, a licenced firearm that they no longer used or a wartime family relic that they don’t know what to do with. By handing any unwanted firearms over to us we can ensure that they are disposed of safely and don’t get into the wrong hands.”
All the weapons handed to officers will be examined to ensure that they have not been used in any criminal offences, before being deactivated and destroyed.
Anyone concerned about illegal weapons in their local community is urged to contact Cheshire Police on 101, alternatively information can be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
