Representatives with the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS), Manitoba RCMP and Brandon Police Service are making a final push for people who want to turn in their unwanted firearms. 

Earlier this month, those police forces got together to offer a province-wide gun amnesty program, meaning anyone with unwanted firearms - registered or not - can turn them into their local police detachment with no questions asked, unless it was found that firearm was used in a crime. 

The month-long program started on June 1, 2018. 

"There's a variety of weapons that have been turned in so far," said Const. Marc Roemer with the Winnipeg Police Firearms Investigative Analysis Section. "Various long guns, shot guns, rifles, various actions like pump-actions and bolt-actions and a variety of handguns including semi-automatic and revolvers." 

Roemer says they have also received illegal firearm magazines, replica guns and ammunition. 

The WPS says it has received 161 submissions during the gun amnesty so far, including a cannonball that was turned in by someone who picked it up in 1966 at York Factory, a historic site in Northern Manitoba. Given it's historical significance, WPS Inspector Eric Luke says it will be kept in the WPS museum. 

Winnipeg Police displayed some of the firearms that have been turned in so far

"We want to keep encouraging people to turn in their firearms in," Luke said. "Go through your garage, basements and any weapons or replica firearms they have, feel free to give us a call, we'll come down and pick those up for you." 

"We want to make sure we control those firearms and they don't get into the hands of criminals." 

Sgt. Paul Manaigre with the RCMP says they have received 161 firearms across the province so far, and Brandon Police Service Chief Wayne Balcen says they have received 27. 

Const. Trevor Ogwal is with the Firearms Investigative Analysis Section and said all the guns they receive are tested and then that information is sent to a database run by the RCMP called the Canadian Integrated Ballistic Identification Network. He says that's how they can tell whether or not guns that get turned in were involved in a crime. 

"Let's say a firearm was suspected to be involved in a shooting, what we would do is test fire the firearm and each cartridge that is recovered is like the fingerprint for that firearm," Ogwal said. "If we do a test-fire and get that cartridge casing and send it to the RCMP, they can determine whether or not casings from a similar firearm or that firearm were involved in a shooting that occurred." 

Every gun turned in goes for testing and then they are destroyed, with the exceptions being any guns that have historical significance or can be used for training purposes. 

Luke says if someone misses the amnesty period but still wants to turn in an unregistered firearm in those situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis to see if charges should be laid. 

If you have firearms you want to turn in, you can call your local police detachments non-emergency unit and they will send someone to pick it up. Police advise not to bring the firearms to police stations unannounced.