The 2022 annual provincial Firearm Amnesty program resulted in a successful campaign with more than a dozen firearms and ammunition being turned into the Prince Albert Police Service by local residents.
According to a release by the Prince Albert Police Service on Friday, Prince Albert residents turned in 13 firearms and six batches of ammunition for disposal as part of the month-long campaign, which ran from March 21 to April 10. Officers with the Prince Albert Police Service worked with residents to arrange for pick-up of unwanted firearms. Across the province, 241 firearms were turned in by residents. In 2019, the last time the amnesty program was offered, 283 firearms were relinquished, with 369 turned over in 2018.
The program is sponsored by the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police (SACP) in an effort to proactively lower the risk of violent offences involving firearms by safely collecting and disposing of unwanted firearms that may otherwise fall into the hands of criminals through break and enters or accidental loss.
The program recognizes that Saskatchewan has a long history and tradition of using firearms for hunting, agricultural production, and recreation and that legal and responsible ownership is the practice of most firearms owners.
They added that reducing the number of unwanted firearms that may be used in the course of violent offences has a positive impact on the safety of our community and those who live and work in Prince Albert.
