Firearms surrender to start in Derbyshire
From July 20 to August 4, anyone who owns or is in possession of a firearm of any type that they want to safely get rid of – be it a pistol, shotgun, rifle, air weapon or imitation – is invited to bring it in to us as part of a national firearms surrender.
The idea is to stop firearms from getting into the wrong hands and being used by offenders to commit crimes on our streets or anywhere else in the country.
As well as urging people to hand over firearms they don’t legally hold, we also want people to hand in any antique weapons or legally-owned guns that licence holders no longer want or need.
People that have guns they want to hand over to us can do so at four locations across the county:
- St Mary’s Wharf and Pear Tree police station in Derby
- Chesterfield police station
- Buxton police station.
If you can't get to any of the above locations, please contact us to arrange an alternative.
Weapons can be handed in anonymously, but the history of each live weapon will be checked for evidence of its use in crime. If they have not been used in criminality, they will be melted down, recycled, or donated to a museum if it holds any historic value.
The last firearms surrender in Derbyshire was in 2017, and we had 194 firearms handed in including more than 30 shotguns, about 20 war trophies and more than 50 imitation firearms, as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Whilst we acknowledge that those using firearms for a criminal purpose are unlikely to surrender them, we know that law-abiding members of the public will.
Whether it’s a genuine firearm, an old antique pistol kept on display, a shotgun someone no longer wants or even just a BB gun that looks real, we want them all to be handed in. As a result, there will be fewer guns in circulation in Derbyshire which could get into the wrong hands, if they weren’t surrendered.
The campaign is part of a nationwide firearms surrender, so people living near the border with other counties can hand them in there, too.
If you need more advice about what to do with a firearm or ammunition, please send us a message on Facebook or Twitter, or call us on 101.