Voluntary surrender of weapons as a tool of partnership between the police and the population

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the voluntary surrender of weapons as a legal, preventive and communication tool of partnership between the National Police of Ukraine and the civilian population in the conditions of martial law and post-war reconstruction. It is substantiated that the mass militarization of the population, complicated control over the movement of weapons and the increase in the risks of illegal trafficking of firearms require a reorientation of police activities from predominantly repressive approaches to service-preventive models of interaction with citizens. The article defines the concept and legal nature of voluntary surrender of weapons, clarifies its place in the system of combating illegal trafficking of weapons and reveals the essence of this institution as an element of the philosophy of community policing. It is found that voluntary surrender of weapons occupies an important place in the system of combating illegal trafficking of firearms, complementing repressive and administrative-jurisdictional measures with a preventive mechanism. It has been proven that voluntary surrender of weapons is an effective tool for partnership between the police and the population, which corresponds to the ideology of community policing. It has been confirmed that voluntary surrender of weapons contributes to reducing the number of illegal weapons, increasing the level of public safety and building public trust in the police. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of sustainable mechanisms for partnership between the police and the population, in particular through communication, community involvement in making security decisions, the activities of community police officers and the use of digital services. Based on the generalization of national practice and modern security challenges, an author’s model of voluntary surrender of weapons in Ukraine is proposed, which combines regulatory, organizational and managerial, information and analytical and socio-communicative components. The feasibility of its implementation as a component of state policy to stabilize the illegal circulation of firearms and a tool to ensure a sustainable transition to peaceful law and order is substantiated. It is concluded that the development of the institution of voluntary surrender of weapons on the basis of partnership is a necessary condition for increasing the effectiveness of the preventive activities of the National Police of Ukraine in the post-war period.