HUNDREDS of firearms have been handed in for registration, sale or destruction in Victoria in the first month of National Firearms Amnesty.
As of the end of July, 751 firearms had been surrendered in Victoria.
Other items handed in include swords, a crossbow, ammunition and imitation firearms.
Victorians have until 30 September to surrender unregistered and unwanted firearms, ammunition and weapons to Licensed Firearms Dealers without fear of prosecution.
Anyone surrendering firearms, weapons or ammunition during the amnesty should surrender to a licensed firearms dealer, not to police.
Explosives should not be surrendered during the amnesty. Any person wanting to dispose of explosives, including explosive ordnances, should contact WorkSafe.
“Every unwanted or unregistered firearm or weapon that we can destroy or register is another step towards a safer Victoria,” Superintendent Paul Millett of the Licensing and Regulation Division said.
“We are seeing people with unregistered firearms from deceased estates, those who have been given firearms by friends and relatives as well as existing licence holders all surrendering unwanted and unregistered firearms.
“We encourage everyone to think about any firearms or weapons that they have around the house or in storage and to take action by surrendering them to a licensed firearm dealer.”
Supt Millett said the illegal firearm market is complex “and the amnesty is just one of the ways we are reducing the number of unregistered firearms”.
First published in the Western Port News – 22 August 2017
