Hand in any unwanted or unregistered firearms
Tasmanians are being reminded to hand in any unwanted or unregistered firearms.
A social media campaign developed by Tasmania Police, Crime Stoppers and the Department of Premier and Cabinet provides simple instructions to help make handing in firearms or ammunition an easy process.
“Any illicit firearm is a concern to Tasmania Police. Firearms in the wrong hands are dangerous and are of utmost concern to police,” Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Higgins said.
“We take every opportunity to take illegal firearms off our streets by having a permanent firearms amnesty, carrying out random firearms storage inspections and investigating diligently when firearms incidents or thefts occur.
“Under our permanent firearms amnesty, the public can hand in firearms and ammunition over to police or firearms dealers at any time without fear of being prosecuted.
“We need your help. We know that there are people out there in the community who know people in possession of illegal firearms.
We need these people to come forward and provide information so we can take these illegal firearms off the street permanently.”
“Crime Stoppers aims to reduce the number of unwanted, unregistered and illicit firearms in the community. Nobody wants these firearms to fall into the wrong hands,” Crime Stoppers Tasmania Chairman, Mr David Daniels OAM, said.
“We encourage everyone to do their bit by handing in these firearms. No unregistered firearms. That’s our aim.”
Key points to simply hand in a firearm or ammunition:
- Contact your local police station first to arrange a time
- When transporting the firearm to a police station or dealer, keep firearms locked in your boot, unloaded and away from any ammunition
- Firearms can be collected from you by calling the Police Assistance Line on 131 444
- Registered dealers can also accept firearms (for a full list of registered dealers visit https://crimestoppers.com.au/firearmamnesty/tas/)
- Being caught with an unregistered or illegal firearm outside amnesty conditions could result in a fine of up to $280,000, up to 14 years in jail, and a criminal record.
Anyone who knows anything about illegal firearms in the community is encouraged to contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers Tasmania anonymously online at crimestopperstas.com.au or on 1800 333 000.
Details regarding the Tasmania Police permanent firearms amnesty are available on the Tasmania Police website at https://fas.police.tas.gov.au/
Crime Stoppers funding contribution for this project was part of a Federal Government initiative.
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