Victorians are being urged to hand in any unwanted, unregistered or illegal firearms as part of a national amnesty.
The amnesty is an Australian-first, according to Victoria Police, and is an opportunity for people in possession of illegal or unregistered firearms, parts or ammunition to anonymously surrender them to their nearest licensed dealer, without fear of prosecution.
The decision to launch the amnesty as permanent follows a successful 2017 firearms amnesty, which aimed to reduce the availability of unregistered firearms and illegal weapons to those not wanting them for lawful purposes, police said.
Licensing and Regulation Division acting Superintendent John Cahill said that while the amnesty is permanent, members of the public should hand in firearms “without delay”.
“We are again urging the community to take a moment and think about any old firearms they may have laying around the house or in storage – if these items are unregistered and not in use, they are a sitting duck for opportunistic thieves on the lookout for firearms,” he said.
“Illegal and unregistered firearms are a key component of so many serious crimes across the state, including homicides, shootings, armed robberies and drug offences.
“This amnesty aims to reduce the number of illegal or unregistered firearms in the community, which will ultimately mean less serious crimes and a safer community.”
The amnesty comes as 5403 total firearm offences were recorded in Victoria in the year to March, 2021.
Hume and Melton were in the top five government areas for recorded firearm offences.
Hume topped the list with 264 offences recorded in the year to March 2021. Melton had 255 recorded in the same period.
Geelong (260), Casey (257) and Latrobe (241) were also in the top five for firearm offences.
Details: crimestoppers.com.au/firearmamnesty
Michaela Meade
