Officials announced the return of a weapons amnesty program for the month of October with the goal of getting people to turn in unwanted guns.
"Anytime an unwanted firearm is turned in by the public, it removes the possibility of this weapon being used in the commission of a criminal offence," said Keith Atkinson, chief of the Brandon Police Service and president of the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police.
The program runs from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31.
Manitobans can call the non-emergency number for their local police to have officers come and pick up the firearms.
Officials said the police will pick up the weapons, rather than having citizens drop them off, to ensure the public's safety.
As part of the program, police will not lay charges against someone giving up a weapon, unless it turns out that the firearm was used to commit a crime or was stolen, said provincial officials.
Guns that are collected during the amnesty will be destroyed.
In 2007, more than 400 firearms were collected during a similar amnesty period in Manitoba, while 315 guns were brought in during an amnesty in 2005, said officials.
The province also unveiled other initiatives Friday, including the hiring of an RCMP officer and an analyst for the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team, which helps police services with investigations into gun-smuggling and criminal use of firearms.
