[URBAN NOTE] "Point and shoot cameras, not guns, police say"

[rfmcdonald]

Turn in firearms to Toronto police and you can get a camera. Notwithstanding apparent success of a similar program in Winnipeg in December of last year, the idea sounds odd.

Toronto police have launched a guns-for-cameras amnesty in the city aimed at taking weapons off the street that may end up in the hands of criminals.

"We know there are a lot of people who have firearms in their homes that would rather not have them there," said chief Bill Blair. "We want to give them an opportunity to get them out."

[. . .]

During the next two weeks, Torontonians will have the opportunity to surrender their firearms in exchange for an Olympus digital camera with an estimated retail value of $100.

"Our intent is to reduce the number of firearms in this city that aren’t being used by sportsmen or hunters," Blair said. "This is not an amnesty for criminals; it's an amnesty for citizens of the city of Toronto to surrender their firearms safely."

The initiative was first launched in 2008 when Toronto residents surrendered roughly 2,000 firearms and 58,000 rounds of ammunition.

More recently, Winnipeggers surrendered 1,700 guns and 13,000 rounds of ammunition over a one-month period in December of last year.

Anyone wishing to participate in the gun amnesty can call the Toronto Police Service at 416-808-2222 or visit their website to fill out a partial police report.