Lancashire Police are supporting a national four-week Firearms Amnesty for Turkish manufactured top-venting blank firers (TVBFs).
These firearms are now illegal to possess following testing by the National Crime Agency and policing.
The amnesty will take place until February 28, after which anyone in possession of a top-venting blank firer (TVBF) could be subject to prosecution and up to 10 years imprisonment.
Tests by the National Crime Agency and policing, funded by the Home Office, show models produced by four Turkish manufacturers are readily convertible and therefore illegal.
Firearms legislation has not changed; Top-venting blank firers (TVBFs) are legal to buy in the UK without a licence by over 18s unless they are readily convertible and recent testing completed by the NCA has demonstrated that the Turkish models BLOW, CEONIC, EKOL and RETAY fall into this category.
Lancashire police are asking people to hand in any TVBFs before the deadline to help them avoid prosecution and prevent these pistols getting into the wrong hands.
Many TVBFs may be held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality or may be overlooked or forgotten in people’s homes. The amnesty gives holders the chance to dispose of the TVBFs safely by taking it to a local police station and handing it in.
The amnesty for TVBFs will be held for four weeks. Other unwanted, unlicensed firearms and ammunition may be surrendered to police at any time which will avoid the risk of them becoming involved in criminality and means that members of the community can dispose of firearms in a safe place.
During the amnesty period, those handing in a Turkish manufactured TVBF will not face prosecution for the illegal possession and will not have to give their details.
Chief inspector of specialist operations firearm licensing, Jon Penson said: “We want to reassure the public that this is a proactive step in tackling gun crime and keeping Lancashire safe.
“Gun crime in the UK remains one of the lowest in the world and gun crime in Lancashire is also very low. We are not complacent about gun crime, which is why we are supporting the national Turkish Top-Venting Blank Firearms Amnesty after tests have shown they can be readily converted into firearms, therefore making them illegal to possess.
“Seeing messaging asking for guns to be handed in might seem scary but many of these will have been purchased legally with legitimate purposes and now that they have been identified as models with a risk of becoming able to cause harm we need to ask people to please hand them in. Every top-venting blank firer given up is one less that criminals can potentially convert and use.
“We want as many top-venting blank firers as possible to be handed in and I encourage anyone in possession of one of the TTVBF models, or any other firearm or ammunition, to visit their local police station to hand them in.
“We remain committed to robustly protecting the public and acting on any intelligence. Communities hold the key to helping reduce firearm related crime. Information from witnesses and local communities is vital if we are to obtain the evidence we need to arrest and prosecute offenders. If you know of anyone involved in illegal firearms activity you should call the Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
