Almost 100 guns taken off Nottinghamshire streets during police amnesty

Nearly 100 guns were taken out of circulation during a voluntary surrender campaign – placing them beyond the reach of local criminals.
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Nottinghamshire Police joined other forces across the country in asking people to come forward with unwanted guns and ammunition between May 12 and 29.

During this limited window, members of the public could hand items in without facing prosecution for possession offences.

The national campaign, organised by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS), took aim at potentially dangerous firearms in people’s homes.

Detective Sergeant Rob Spry, of Nottinghamshire Police’s archives and exhibits teamDetective Sergeant Rob Spry, of Nottinghamshire Police’s archives and exhibits team
Detective Sergeant Rob Spry, of Nottinghamshire Police’s archives and exhibits team

Examples can include war trophies handed down by relatives, weapons used for display purposes, hunting rifles and shotgun.

All have the potential to cause considerable harm if they were to fall into the hands of criminals.

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During the course of the campaign, shotguns, rifles, pistols a selection of air weapons and even gunpowder were handed in at police stations across the city and county.

Several shotgun cartridges, various bullets and a starting pistol were also volunteered to surrender.

The weapons have all been catalogued and will now be broken up.

Detective Sergeant Rob Spry, of Nottinghamshire Police’s archives and exhibits team, said: “Nearly every one of these weapons could pose a risk to the public if they were to fall into the wrong hands.

"Even blank firing weapons can easily be converted to fire live rounds so it is vital that they don’t fall into the hands of criminals.

“We know that some people end up in possession of unwanted weapons for a variety of different reasons.

"Some are family heirlooms or trophies handed down through generations, others are weapons that have reached the end of their working lives.

“Disposing of these items isn’t straightforward so people can end up hanging on to them because they are unsure of wat to do with them.

"So, it is important that we give people this opportunity to hand them over no questions asked.

"We are also happy to take calls at any time of the year from people who wish to hand over firearms in their possession.

“Gun crime is thankfully extremely rare in Nottinghamshire and initiatives like this help us to keep it that way.”

Anyone with information about illegal firearms can report what they know anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.