Northamptonshire Police support two-week firearms surrender

Northamptonshire Police is asking people to hand in unwanted and illegal firearms as part of a national two-week surrender which begins tomorrow (May 12).

Coordinated by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS), the firearms surrender will run for just over two weeks from Thursday, 12 May, to Sunday, 29 May.

The two-week surrender is a campaign to remove firearms from falling into the pool of criminally used weapons.

Whilst nationally, firearms crime remains low, there are still very serious incidents taking place involving guns. In addition, legislative changes mean it is no longer legal to own specific firearms without a license, if at all in some cases. 

As such a surrender period has been arranged to allow people to hand in unwanted or illegal firearms and ammunition to the police.

During the surrender, we want people to hand in:

• illegally-held guns and ammunition
• imitation firearms and air guns
• other unwanted guns and ammunition including air guns and imitations
• Tasers, stun guns, CS gas, etc.
• firearms you may have been asked to hide for someone else

If you have a gun that falls into any of these categories, please hand it in.

During the last national firearms surrender in 2019, 43 items were handed in to Northamptonshire Police including shotguns, a samurai sword and numerous realistic replica firearms and BB guns.

Inspector Colin Newport said: “We are supporting this national surrender as part of our commitment to taking as many dangerous weapons off our streets as possible.

“Many firearms are held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality, or are overlooked and forgotten in people’s homes. Some are held legally and are no longer required. Others are acquired and distributed by criminal networks to harm, threaten and intimidate their local communities.

“The surrender gives people the chance to safely dispose of firearms or ammunition by having us discreetly come and collect them from their homes.

“We want more firearms out of circulation to help us better protect people from harm in Northamptonshire. Handing in a firearm could save a life, so I would ask you to do the right thing and surrender your weapon.”

During the surrender period, those handing over firearms will not face prosecution for illegal possession, at the point of surrender, and can remain anonymous.

Firearms and ammunition can be given up by calling Northamptonshire Police on 101 and making an appointment for the items to be collected.

If you know of anyone involved with illegal firearms contact police on 101, get in touch online at www.northants.police.uk, or call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. If you are a licensed firearm holder and would like advice please contact Northamptonshire Police on 101.