Last month, the Chatham-Kent Police Service, in partnership with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and other Municipal Police Services participated in a Gun Amnesty Program.
The Gun Amnesty was designed for anyone in Ontario who wanted to voluntarily surrender unwanted or illegally-owned firearms, weapons, accessories or ammunition.
CKPS Firearms Officer Const. Rob Tobin says, “The Amnesty was a great way for citizens to safely surrender their weapons to enhance public safety. Our goal was ultimately to reduce the number of guns on our streets and in our community.”
As a result of the Gun Amnesty Program here in Chatham-Kent, the following items were surrendered to police:
– 40 non restricted long guns (rifles/shotguns/pellet rifles)
– 5 restricted handguns
– 2 pellet pistols
– 4 prohibited handguns
– 2 knives
– And 20kg of assorted ammunition
No weapon-related Criminal Code charges were laid in connection with the weapons turned in.
Police Chief Gary Conn adds, “We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Amnesty by voluntarily surrendering their weapons and ammunition. By turning in your weapons for destruction, we can now ensure that they will never fall into the hands of those with criminal intent.”
The Chatham-Kent Police Service is dedicated to making our community the safest in Ontario and will continue to accept unwanted firearms, ammunition or other weapons for destruction. To arrange for an officer to attend and safely retrieve your items, please call 519-436-6653 or email robertt@chatham-kent.ca
Police officials say under no circumstances should anyone deliver guns or ammunition directly to police headquarters.