Scottish air gun amnesty is on
Police Scotland is running a national air gun surrender campaign until June 12.
It will allow anyone who no longer wishes to keep an air weapon the chance to surrender their weapon(s) for destruction, safely.
Chief Inspector Mairi MacInnes said: “Members of the public surrendering an air weapon at a police office should ensure that the weapon is covered (in a case or a bag) to avoid causing alarm to others and should avoid carrying weapons on public transport. Air weapons should not be surrendered to officers on the street.
“Anyone who has an air weapon which they no longer use or need can surrender it at their local police office, at any time, even prior to the surrender campaign.
“If it is not practical for anyone to attend at a police station then they should contact the Police on 101 and ask for arrangements to be made to have the air weapon collected by their local police.”
The Air weapon and Licensing (Scotland) Bill was recently passed by the Scottish Parliament and new legislation will come into effect on July 1 requiring owners of air weapons to possess a licence.
A government spokesperson said: “This legislation will improve public safety by ensuring that only those persons who have a legitimate reason for owning and using an air weapon have access to them and that they are properly licensed.
The Air Weapon and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 will come into effect in two stages;
Application Process – from July 1 the public will be able to begin the process of submitting their applications for certification
Enforcement – from January 1 2017, to prevent people being criminalised while certificates are being processed, the Scottish Government incorporated statutory instrument legislation to ensure that no person will commit an offence of possessing an air weapon without the relevant authority or certification for a period of not less than 6 months from July 1 2016. As a result, enforcement will not begin until January 1 2017.
“Members of the public who possess and use air weapons can continue to do so legally and take no action at this time. However, after July 1 anyone with an air weapon who does not hold a firearms or shotgun certificate will have to apply for a licence which must be valid before January 1 2017.”
Earlier this week, a public awareness campaign, to inform people about the new legislation, was launched by the Scottish Government. Information about the new licensing rules and the application process can also be found at www.scotland.police.uk/airweapons .