Increasingly, police forces across the UK are using arms amnesties as a way to get guns off the streets – and McIntyre alligator shears are being used to destroy the items handed in.
The most recent amnesty is still ongoing in Kent, and we’re proud to have helped police there destroy another 140 weapons and 3,100 rounds of ammunition, to date. See a video below of our Global 4000 safety alligator shear in action chopping up one of these items – a Kalashnikov AK-47 – in seconds.
Minimising amnesty risk
Our shears play a crucial role in minimising the risk of any amnesty operation. The ‘surrender’ periods are of course widely publicised. If the firearms and ammunition handed in then had to be stored for any time at a standard police station, or transported to another location for destruction, there would be a very high risk of them being successfully targetted by violent criminals intent on getting them back into circulation.
Because McIntyre shears are compact and mobile they can be used within any regional station, enabling the police to destroy surrendered items on receipt, on site.
Optimising operator safety
Importantly, our shears are also the safest for operators to use. While any of our shears from the McIntyre 407 and up are capable of chopping up weapons in seconds, police customers tend to favour our Global range of alligator shears because these systems have been designed with operator safety as a priority.
Fully CE certified, all McIntyre Global Shears have a strong metal case enclosing moving parts, and a rugged guard with Perspex viewing points that protect the operator from the blades while optimising visibility. The Global 5000 and 6000 models are also equipped with an automatic hold-down clamp which holds material in place during cutting and prevents kick-back.
A popular additional safety option is our purpose-designed rubber curtain. Guns tend to be made from hard, brittle metal which can shatter when sheared, and these curtains protect operators from any flying shards.
McIntyre shears a gun in seconds
See this incredible video of the AK-47 assault rifle being chopped up easily by a McIntyre Global 4000 shear after the weapon was handed in during the arms amnesty in Kent (credit: Metro).
