Gun amnesty nets 682 firearms

Almost 700 weapons were surrendered in Hertfordshire during the national firearm amnesty last month.

The last time such an amnesty was held was following the Dunblane shooting in 1996 when 151 weapons were handed in.

According to Hertfordshire Police, the final haul included 139 handguns, 171 shotguns, 39 rifles, 113 imitation firearms, 102 air rifles, 99 air pistols and 19 other firearms.

More than 14,000 rounds of ammunition and 110 other weapons, including two grenades, a rocket launcher, CS spray, bayonets and knives, were also surrendered during the amnesty.

The amnesty ran during April and members of the public were encouraged to surrender weapons to their local police station without fear of prosecution.

Police say that even though the amnesty has ended, they will continue to work closely with other agencies to tackle what they describe as "the growing problem of gun crime and the perils of possessing both real and imitation firearms."

Herts police wants anyone with any information about illegally held firearms to either call the firearms licensing manager on 01707-638151, contact the local police station on 01707-638100, or call Crimestoppers on 0800-555111.

3 May 2003

Related News
Police welcome gun amnesty response - 9 April 2003
Gun amnesty extends to replicas - 31 March 2003
Police issue BB gun warning - 30 November 2002

Search this site or the rest of the Internet