A gun amnesty launched in Basingstoke allowing residents to hand in firearms and ammunition with no questions asked is coming to a close.
The initiative, taking place north east Hampshire, has run since the beginning of the month and ends on Friday, April 16. Hampshire police opted to launch the amnesty following a triple shooting in Aldershot in December 2009.
Julie Harrison and Maisie Harrison-Copland were unlawfully killed by Julie’s ex-partner and Maisie’s father, Andrew Copland, who then turned the gun on himself.
Launching the amnesty, Chief Superintendent Mark Chatterton, Commander of the North and East Operational Command Unit, said: “In response to these community concerns we have launched a firearms and ammunition amnesty to give anyone who has an illegal firearm an opportunity to hand it in to the police and walk away. This is not about violent crime; in fact Hampshire Constabulary is rated excellent at surpressing gun crime in the police report card.
“We are fortunate to live and work in a very safe place and in the last year there were only 26 incidents across the whole or north east Hampshire where a gun was reported to have been involved in a crime against a person. The purpose of this amnesty is to target the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition and remove these weapons from people’s homes so that they do not end up being used in a crime. We don’t need to know how or why you have come into possession of the firearm or ammunition, we just want you to hand it in.”
A statement released by the families of Julie Harrison and Andrew Copland, said: “If anything good comes out of this, it would be that nobody else would lose loved ones in this way.”
Stations including Aldershot, Farnborough, Alton and Petersfield are all taking part.
