Saskatchewan’s Gun Amnesty program collected 283 firearms this year.
The amnesty, put on annually by the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, allows anyone to surrender a gun to authorities without fear of charges.
"If someone has a firearm in their possession that they don’t want, they’re feeling anxious about it, that it might not be stored properly but they don’t really know what to do," Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said. "If we have an amnesty period it really is a bit of a fresh breath of air for them to be able to say 'okay this is a chance for me to get rid of this firearm and out of my home.'”
Of all the firearms surrendered, 57 were given to the Regina Police Service, and 74 to the Saskatoon Police Service. Police in Moose Jaw, Estevan, Weyburn and Dalmeny also participated.
The total is down from 2018, when 369 firearms were collected in the first provincial amnesty.
Regina police collected 157 guns in February of 2017 in their inaugural gun amnesty program.
