Weapons amnesty not for gangs, says McDowell

The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has said that he did not believe that drug gangs or hardened criminals would surrender their arsenals under the Government's new weapons amnesty, which comes into effect today.

However, he said he expected judges would not listen to "sob stories" about people holding on to guns or knives for their own protection or claiming to have forgotten about them once new mandatory sentences for firearms offences were introduced in November, at the end of the amnesty.

Speaking at the launch of the two-month amnesty yesterday, Mr McDowell said that the aim of the scheme was to afford people an opportunity to hand in illegally-held firearms, crossbows, knives and other offensive weapons at their local Garda station prior to the introduction of new stringent sentences.

"This is part of a two-fold attempt to reduce the incidence of dreadful crime in which weapons are involved: a limited amnesty followed by the introduction of harsh penalties," he stated.

Under the amnesty, persons handing in a weapon will be asked to provide their name and address and proof of identity.

All weapons surrendered will be tested forensically. Where any are found to have had been used in a crime, both the weapon and the forensic evidence will be admissible in any subsequent prosecution.

The Minister said the scheme here would not be like a similar amnesty in Britain, where weapons were dumped in wheelie bins in police stations.

He said that while details of persons handing in weapons would be stored, they would not face prosecutions or be placed on any form of "blacklist".

However, Mr McDowell said the amnesty could not be used by criminals to avoid responsibility for crimes that had already been committed.

The Minister said he never believed large numbers of hardened criminals were going to hand over weapons under the amnesty. He said such criminals could only be dealt with by applying the full rigour of the law.

"However, I do believe that there are people right across Ireland who have guns and offensive weapons and who, for example, would have found it difficult to come forward, or to admit that they had weapons in their house, or to admit what relative brought them into their house, or that they had neglected to license them. Such people now have have an opportunity to get rid of all that material - hunting knives, stun guns, right across the board, weapons of all kind," he said.

Mr McDowell said that following the amnesty, mandatory minimum custodial sentences of between five and 10 years would be introduced for a range of serious firearms offences.

These include mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years for possession of firearms with intent to endanger life or to resist arrest or aid escape.

Possession of firearms with criminal intent, or in suspicious circumstances or to hijack a vehicle, will attract a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, as will altering a firearm, such as sawing-off a shotgun barrel.

The Minister said the courts could exercise discretion and impose less than the minimum sentence prescribed in exceptional circumstances. He said that this could never happen in relation to repeat offenders.