Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison is floating the idea of a gun amnesty in an attempt to cut down on shootings in the city.

People would be encouraged to hand over their guns without punishment. This idea follows a shooting yesterday on 20th Street and several more firearms-related incidents in the last few weeks (one in Buena Vista and one in Willowgrove.)

Hirsch Greenberg, head of justice studies at the University of Regina, said the idea is worth considering. However, he said it needs more research and wonders if guns used in crime or suicide will be the ones turned in.

"Those guns, so far in the studies I've seen, tend not to be the same ones that get collected," he said.

Citing a study out of Milwaukee, he said "the guns that are used in the commission of a crime or a suicide are different than the guns that were handed in through an amnesty."

The mayor was unavailable today for comment. Saskatoon Police would not provide a response on the idea of gun amnesty at this time.