Next month, Waterloo Regional Police hope citizens admit to have illegal weapons in their possession.
If they do so, police will make them an offer they may not want to refuse – officers will visit their house and remove the weapons, but won’t press any charges for owning the weapons.
“During November, the public will have the opportunity to turn in guns or prohibited weapons over to the police without fear of being charged of possession-related offences,” Supt. Pat Dietrich told assembled reporters Wednesday.
By getting those weapons off the streets, Dietrich said, police hope to prevent them from falling into the hands of criminals via break-and-enters or children via curiosity.
Police call their offer an act of amnesty, although admit it stops short of outright immunity.
“Amnesty will primarily apply to possession, licensing and storage-type issues,” Dietrich told CTV News.
“Should we receive a firearm that we know was involved in a very serious criminal offence, that will require some additional inquiry.
Jennifer Schulenberg, a legal studies professor at the University of Waterloo, believes the program will result in some calls to police and some weapons being removed, but isn’t sure it will have an effect on gun violence in Waterloo Region.
“The problem is, we are not necessarily getting the correct guns off the street – those that are actively being used for criminal purposes,” she said.
“Those that are perpetrating the gun violence are very unlikely to turn in their weapons, partly because they have been used in the commission of an offence.”
Instead, Schulenberg says, police should specifically target repeat offenders.
Police will also accept calls to dispose of replica guns, pellet guns, prohibited knives and other weapons.
Anyone who uses the program will have to provide basic personal information and sign a waiver.
