Ashleigh Darrach
Photo/@Chrisboddy
Toronto Police remind people that gun #amnestyTO is still in effect.
Chris Boddy, a Toronto Police inspector, said they’ve gathered more than 40 guns since the amnesty started two weeks ago.
“Very positive,” Boddy said about the response so far. “We feel that if you have firearms in your home that you’re not going to use in the first place, we’ll take them off your hands.”
According to dictionary.com, amnesty is defined as “a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction,” or “an act of forgiveness,” and Toronto Police stand by this, as they allow citizens to turn in their guns without facing charges.
The gun amnesty program comes into effect every two to three years as an attempt to get firearms that are not being securely stored out of Toronto homes. The current program will conclude on November 16.
In a study released by Statistics Canada, showed that in 2012 there were over 3,000 offenses related to firearms, which is all the reason to launch programs such as the gun amnesty.
Photo/@Chrisboddy
Social media allows for major success this year
According to Boddy, social media has played a large role in this year’s amnesty success. The hashtag #amnestyTO was trending the day the program was launched.
“The community always likes when we do these,” Boddy said. “There’s lots of interest and lots of community members encouraging other community members to rid themselves of firearms that they’re never going to use.”
In order to participate, Toronto Police encourage people to contact them and call 416-808-2222 and have them arrange to pick up the firearm. From this point, they will investigate to ensure that the gun has no relations to any crimes, and no charges will be faced.
“I can tell you since we’ve been doing gun amnesties we’ve never found a crime gun,” Boddy added. “These are lawful people that have just had these things for often times decades, who just don’t know how to get rid of them.”