Met amnesty aims to pull guns off streets

The Metropolitan Police has launched a campaign to raise awareness of its “gun surrender” initiative, which will offer people the chance to anonymously hand in their guns. The amnesty will run from January 21 to February 17.

The campaign, which has been created by Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy, includes a print execution showing an “invisible man” dressed in streetwear, walking into a police station. It will be supported by a door drop and radio campaign.

The gun surrender initiative covers both real and imitation guns. Vicqui Viney, campaign manager at the Metropolitan Police Service, says: “Startlingly, imitation guns are used in up to 50% of armed crime and will often be identical in appearance to the genuine weapons that they are trying to replicate.

The initiative is part of the new Violent Crime Reduction Act aimed at curbing the supply of guns and imposing stricter prison sentences for their possession. The Metropolitan Police is also seeking to appeal to people in key boroughs where the problem is most severe.