Keep guns and knives away from criminals and hand them in to us

North Yorkshire Police (NYP) is asking members of the public to hand in guns and knives they shouldn’t have, as part of national focussed activity this month to tackle serious crime.

People up and down the country are urged to hand in unwanted guns with a two week surrender of firearms and ammunition, starting on 12th May 2022.

Many firearms are held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality or are overlooked and forgotten in people’s homes. Some are held legally and are no longer required. Others are acquired and distributed by criminal networks to harm, threaten, and intimidate their local communities. The surrender gives people the chance to dispose of firearms or ammunition by simply taking them to a local police station and handing them over.

The surrender will run until 29th May 2022. Surrendering unwanted, unlicensed, and illegal weapons avoids the risk of them becoming involved in criminality and means that members of the community can dispose of firearms in a safe place.

During that period, those surrendering firearms can remain anonymous and will not face prosecution for the illegal possession at the point of surrender.

During the surrender North Yorkshire Police want people to hand in:

• illegally-held guns and ammunition
• imitation firearms and air guns
• other unwanted guns and ammunition including air guns and imitations
• Tasers, stun guns, CS gas, etc.
• firearms you may have been asked to hide for someone else

Between 12 and 29 May, weapons can be handed in to front counter staff at the following police stations: York, Scarborough, Malton, Harrogate, Skipton, Selby, Northallerton and Richmond.

If someone is unable to travel or have concerns about transporting a firearm to a police station, they should contact police via 101 to seek advice.

In addition to the firearms surrender, Operation Sceptre will run from 16 May to 22 May.

Operation Sceptre is a coordinated week of activity where police forces across the country help keep knives off the streets and deter people from carrying them, and through information and intelligence, proactively target knife related offences.

As part of this activity, members of the public are encouraged to dispose of any unwanted knives in our knife amnesty bins, which will be at York, Scarborough, Malton, Harrogate, Skipton, Selby Northallerton and Richmond police stations between 16 and 22 May.

Assistant Chief Constable Elliot Foskett, said:

“That’s why we are totally committed to taking as many items which could be used as weapons off our streets as possible, ensuring our communities are as safe from harm as possible because we want North Yorkshire to remain the safest place to live and work.

“I want people to take advantage of this campaign and know they are disposing of a potentially dangerous item in the safest way possible, without getting into any trouble. It’s a chance to do the right thing and a chance to potentially save a life”.

NYP would also like to remind people about the changes to the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 which now means it is an offence to possess certain items such as knuckledusters, throwing stars and zombie knives, even in private. People can find out more on the NPCC website here Offensive Weapons Act 2019 bans the possession of dangerous items in private (npcc.police.uk)

Communities hold the key to helping reduce firearm related crime. Information from witnesses and local communities is vital if we are to obtain the evidence needed to arrest and prosecute offenders.

You can call Crimestoppers anonymously 24 hours a day by dialling 0800 555111.