Today is the final day Barrie residents can voluntarily surrender unwanted or illegally owned firearms, weapons, accessories or ammunition under the month-long gun amnesty.
Barrie police, in collaboration with the Ontario Provincial Police, have been holding a gun amnesty all month in an effort to provide citizens with a safe way to surrender weapons.
“Public safety is our top priority, and the amnesty provides the opportunity to reduce the number of firearms and related equipment in our community, enhancing public safety and police officer safety,” stated Chief Kimberley Greenwood.
This is the last day police will not recommend weapons-related charges that might otherwise apply to people who are turning in these types of items. However, police specify that there is no amnesty for people who turn in weapons that have been used in the commission of a crime and no anonymous submissions will be accepted.
Police stress that under no circumstance should anyone deliver weapons or ammunition to police facilities. Instead, those interested in surrendering a weapon should contact the Barrie Police Service gun amnesty hotline at 705-728-5629, to arrange a time for officers to safely retrieve the weapons.
This effort has been made province-wide, in an effort to keep firearms and weapons out of communities and improve public safety.