Twenty-five years after the Port Arthur massacre, the Australian Government has partnered with Crime Stoppers Australia to launch a permanent firearms amnesty to keep the country safe.
The national campaign urges anyone with unregistered or unwanted firearms to hand them in, and was developed by behaviour change specialists, The Shannon Company, in close collaboration with media company Bohemia Group.
The Shannon Company creative director, Stuart Nightingale said the campaign was a great example of inspiring behaviour change willingly and for good.
“There’s no value in finger pointing or marginalising firearm owners, it’s all about highlighting the ease of handing-in firearms and the ‘no penalties’ approach that the amnesty provides,” he said.
“In fact our visuals go beyond simply handing firearms in – the technique of guns disintegrating before our eyes is a strong reminder that handing them in means they’ll actually cease to exist.
“To drive that change in behaviour we’ve focused on overcoming the barriers that would otherwise be in the way of the majority of people who want to do the right thing.
“’No judgement’, ‘no penalties’, ‘no charges’, are key considerations that will motivate those people to hand-in their unregistered or unwanted firearms.
“Obviously there are other groups out there, such as the criminal underworld, and this campaign is not directly addressing them and the dangers they pose, but indirectly, when firearms are handed-in, the chance of them falling into the clutches of criminals is eliminated.”
Bohemia head of media, Garth Moring added: “Bohemia is incredibly excited to be working with Crime Stoppers again on such an important campaign. The responsibility of driving behaviour change towards a safer Australia is not lost on us. The two-phase approach, of which Phase 1 has just launched, is designed to drive understanding and action. It’s another great example of our partnership with Crime Stoppers.”
The campaign is an initiative of the Australian Government funded through Crime Stoppers Australia and begins this week across free to air TV and digital channels.
