Police urge public to hand in guns and ammunition - The Leamington Observer

Police urge public to hand in guns and ammunition

Leamington Editorial 23rd May, 2022   0

GUNS and ammunition can be handed in to police in Warwickshire this week.

The county’s police force is supporting a national firearms and ammunition surrender campaign.

From today (Monday May 23) until Sunday (May 29), residents can dispose of firearms or ammunition by taking them to police stations in Rugby, Leamington and Stratford.

People surrendering weapons will not be required to leave any information.




A Warwickshire Police spokesman said: “Surrendering unwanted, unlicensed and illegal weapons avoids them falling into the wrong hands and being used in crime. It means members of the public can dispose of firearms in a safe way.

“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.”


Community policing lead Supt Lee Kemp said: “We’re fortunate in Warwickshire that we don’t have a big problem with gun crime. However, there are a lot of licensed firearms in the county.

“As well as these legal firearms and ammunition there are likely to be unregistered older weapons, perhaps in people’s lofts and garages. These weapons can and do sometimes fall into the wrong hands and are used to commit crime.

“Every firearm and piece of ammunition surrendered is one less weapon that can be used to commit an offence.”

Visit https://tinyurl.com/5h9j5e6y for details of police station opening hours.

Call police on 101 to report concerns abut people in possession of firearms, or 999 in an emergency. Anonymous reports can be made to independent charity Crimestoppers at www.crimestoppers-uk.org or on 0800 555 111.

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