Guns-for-cameras program aimed at Toronto shooters
Toronto police launched an innovative gun amnesty program on Wednesday. It's dubbed Pixels for Pistols, and through it, police are offering to give out a Nikon digital camera to anyone turning in a firearm.
Hand over your gun, get a camera--and photography classes.
(Credit: Nikon)A handgun or assault rifle is worth a $400 Nikon Coolpix S52 and a shotgun nets a $250 Nikon Coolpix P60. The deal includes free photography lessons.
The amnesty program will run for four weeks, according to Henry's camera store, which is providing the cameras.
This might be a good idea for U.S. cities with a lot of street crime. Other amnesty programs offer cash ($100 assault rifles, $50 for shot guns in Washington, D.C. last year) but cameras of much greater value might be just the enhanced financial incentive, and possible artistic motivator, that some gun owners need.
(Thanks to Byron Ng)
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor. 
Yea i agree Hightechnh...the other way around sounds a bit better!
I think this is a pretty rediculous idea...what criminal is goint to say "hey, ima go get me a cool camera in exchange for my .45!" Yea, there going to get that camera turn around and sell it for as high a price as they can and go get something else like drugs or something!
Mule
You'd think with all of those "community organizers" in Chicago, they'd have the problem solved... ;-)
Great idea.
But wait, wheres that ONE person that always chimes in to say: I think this is a GREAT idea...blah, blah, blah!" LoL!
In the unlikely event that a criminal wants to turn in a gun, then that's just a bonus.
Having said that... The problem with most gun amnesties is that the compensation for bringing in a firearm is often quite low. Cash payouts are usually a pittance ($100 for a pistol or rifle. $50 for a shotgun). Considering that I paid $500 for my Remington 870, $1700 for my Remington Custom Shop Model 700, and $600 for my Glock 22C, I'd just as soon keep them locked up here rather than turn them in for practically nothing. (I already have a much nicer digital camera, thanks!) So, I doubt that this program from the Toronto police will net many guns from criminals, if any.
Self-defense laws in Canada allow you to defend yourself against assault with whatever force is necessary to repel the attack. The law states that you should use no more force than is necessary, but if you are facing death, and killing the attacker is the only way to stop the attack, then you can use deadly force. This is no different than self-defense laws in most of the U.S.
As an average citizen, what good is a camera going to do me if I find myself in a situation where my life is in danger? I guess I could photograph the attacker and hope the police catch him.
I agree with the need to get guns away from criminals but as long as they know that their attacks on law abiding citizens will not be met with firearm resistance, their bold attacks will continue.
They not only feel very safe in their planned attack but know they have the upper hand. They also know law enforcement can't be everywhere.
As a web site owner of safety and security products, allowing law abiding citizens to arm themselves with non-lethal forms of protection is a good alternative but not the ultimate fix to this problem.
I spent several years attending meetings sponsored by the City Council. I was the principal researcher for the Task Force.
We learned from crime statistics that most of the gun-related homicides in the city were being committed by black people who were part of the city's black underclass. This indicated to me that we were dealing with something more than a "gun problem"--especially since gun ownership was widespread among white people in the city, who were not out committing murders.
I suspect that the very same thing is true today in Toronto. It isn't a "gun problem" that is responsible for the homicides. The problem is the violence that freqently is endemic among lower-class minority people as a result of uncivilized cultural attitudes.
Good luck to Toronto. As minority populations increase, the city's "gun problem" will only get worse because the politicians will never admit to, or recognize, the real cause of the problem.
As others have stated, a quality firearm is worth a great deal more than a point and shoot digital camera and will depreciate more slowly (it may even appreciate in some cases). Only pieces of junk would be turned in by anyone familiar with the valuations.
Does anyone honestly believe a criminal who uses a firearm as a tool of the [illegal] trade, would actually turn it in? If so, why?
If there is truly a "no questions asked" policy and the firearms aren't checked before being [presumably] destroyed, this is the perfect way to destroy evidence. To have the police facilitate the destruction of evidence surely would amuse the criminals.
Ms. Mills and others who think this is a good idea need to interface more with reality.
- by mainframer2 April 28, 2009 9:05 AM PDT
- The very best way to control guns is simply to control the penalty for using one while committing a crime. Its one thing for a thug to demand your money while unarmed. The thug runs the risk of engaging someone who isn't willing to lose his wallet/money/purse/etc. The victim either complies or does not. When a thug uses a gun, thats a different situation. This is what we call an "aggravated" crime. THIS is the condition where we knock the hell out of the thug by putting him in jail for life. Now you're talking deterrence!
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(23 Comments)If you try any other circumstance, like trying to take away all guns, then only the thugs will have guns and violence will continue.
Here in Texas, ever since Carry Concealed laws started happening; crime has fallen way down. Its a basic fact, thugs and criminals prefer un-armed victims. When they aren't so sure you're unarmed, the smarter ones tend to leave you alone.
People, guns do not kill people any more than spoons make Rosie O'Donnell fat or any more than pencils cause bad hand writing.
An unloaded firearm is very much like an empty fire extinquisher - useless.