Moldovan police launch campaign of voluntary delivery of fire guns

Chisinau, 2 November /MOLDPRES/ - The General Police Inspectorate (IGP) today launched a campaign of raising public’s awareness about the voluntary delivery of illegally held fire guns, titled, Help Moldova Become a Safer Country,  

IGP head Alexandru Pinzari has said that, at the event, the police analysed and tried to prevent all risks the citizens can be subjected to, as well as the ones favouring the committing of offences.  

“The campaign was launched in the context of the amendment of the law on the holding and preservation of fire guns, which provides for the toughening of the rules. The holders of smooth-bore guns will be punished under criminal law, if they fail to have legal documents on holding the weapons, and the sanctions will be toughened for illegal preservation of pneumatic guns. According to data by the police, hunters are most owners of smooth-bore guns, who have been sanctioned only by an administrative procedure for illegally holding guns,” Pinzari noted.    

An advertising spot will be launched within the campaign, which will be aired at four TV channels with nationwide coverage during six weeks, as well as 15,000 informative materials in the Romanian and Russian languages.  

The main goal of the campaign is to help law-enforcers enhance the awareness about the registration of fire guns among people, deliver the illegally held guns and reduce the demand and incorrect use of weapons by citizens. Also, the campaign was launched as a result of increase in the number of incidents triggered by the use of fire guns.   

The campaign is financed by the European Union and backed by the United Nations Development Programme and South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC).

In the first nine months of 2016, the police discovered and raised 1,259 fire guns, of which 147 were held illegally, and 125 were delivered voluntarily.

(Reporter P. Beregoi, editor A. Raileanu)