The gun amnesty period (see related story) announced earlier by Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling starts April 14. Those willing to surrender their weapon can do so with “no questions asked” until May 2.
To what extent the “Stop, Drop and GO” programme will help mitigate the proliferation of firearms in the community, as is the intention, obviously remains to be seen. Experience has understandably shown that mostly otherwise law-abiding citizens make use of such, not so much – potential – delinquents.
The compensation of up to US $500 (Cg. 895) certainly seems like a decent incentive especially during the upcoming Easter and Carnival holidays, when many would no doubt love to have some extra spending cash in their pockets. The assurance that one’s identity is not recorded should help lower the threshold as well.
To be sure, every firearm handed in will undergo forensic testing. They logically cannot have been used in any crime.
Perhaps the most important part is that credible tips leading to the recovery of illegal guns may also qualify for a fee. The persons involved can stay anonymous too.
The latter puts those who possess illicit firearms on edge, because there will be less trust in others aware of such. They might even choose to surrender these on their own, or make sure to keep them well-hidden.
Either way, if all this keeps at least a few guns off the streets, that’s probably worth it.
