The NZ Police have confirmed that Firearms owners have handed in 12,183 firearms at over 100 events held nationwide 5 weeks into the buy-back scheme.
7573 firearms owners have been processed, and they have handed in a total of 10,844 prohibited firearms as well as 46,129 parts and accessories.
The total cost to the taxpayer for this compensation of firearms owners is $22.4 million.
Over thirteen hundred of the firearms handed into police were under amnesty.
Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement has said that “Firearms owners’ attitude towards this process has been outstanding. They have really engaged in the process and police staff involved in the buy-back have heard positive feedback about the experience. I really want to thank both the public and our team for making the first 100 collection events go so well.”
More collection events are scheduled nationwide until the end of September and the police will then review where additional events are needed.
The police decided to focus on local collection events initially because they wanted to make it an easy process for firearms owners by making the collection points as accessible as possible.
Bulk pick-ups are available now for those that have 10 or more firearms or 50 parts. If you would like your firearms picked up by police you can complete the online notification that can be found on the NZ Police website.
Additionally, from early September a number of dealers will be available as an option for people to drop their firearms into under either the buy-back or amnesty. This option, however, will take longer than the other options to process.
After firearms have been handed into dealers, police will uplift these firearms and contact the owners to discuss the condition of the firearms against the price list.
Police published an amended price list earlier this week for prohibited firearms and parts eligible under the buy-back scheme.
An additional 23 firearms have been included into the buy-back price list, bringing the total to 353 firearms now eligible for compensation.
To speed up the process at events, owners need to complete the online form on www.police.govt.nz before coming to an event – including listing each firearm and/or each individual part that they are bringing along.
For more information visit www.police.govt.nz or call 0800 311 311.