Riverina residents have been urged to play their part in getting unregistered firearms off the streets before they are used to commit crimes or cause serious harm.
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The local version of a three-month national campaign encouraging people to surrender their illegal guns and dob in neighbours, family and friends was launched in Wagga on Wednesday.
The campaign comes amid a nation-wide permanent gun amnesty, which allows people to hand unwanted weapons to police on a no questions asked basis.
It is estimated more than 260,000 unregistered guns are currently in circulation across Australia.
Riverina PD Superintendent Andrew Spliet called on any local residents who might be in possession of one of these weapons to give it up to police.
"We only want people who are licensed to have firearms ... in their possession so if you've got one with you and you're not sure what to do with it please take this opportunity to surrender it," he said.
"The weapons we receive will be booked up, entered into our system where we can keep track of the firearms and then they will be conveyed to Sydney where they will be later destroyed."
Last month, police charged at least two men in Wagga for possessing unauthorised firearms, including one who allegedly hit a police officer with a bag of guns in Kooringal and another who carried a loaded shotgun during a street fight in Ashmont.
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Superintendent Spliet said anyone who feels they need to keep an unregistered firearm for any reason should consider the potentially serious ramifications.
"They don't want that to fall into the hands of somebody that might commit a crime with it," he said. "Someone may end up seriously injured or dead and nobody wants that."
NSW Crime Stoppers CEO Peter Price encouraged residents to report any information they may have about potentially unregistered firearms.
"We're only interested in the information, we're not interested in who you are," he said. "Australians should think about how they would feel if they stayed silent about an illegal gun which was then used to harm or kill someone."
Riverina residents can legally surrender any unwanted guns by calling their local police station and can report any information to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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