Replica handguns may soon be outlawed in Oshawa, a city east of Toronto, in an effort to tackle increasing use of the fake firearms in intimidation and crime, the mayor says.

City council is expected to approve a bylaw Tuesday evening banning the use or display of imitation guns, including toys that could be mistaken for a firearm and guns adapted to not discharge.

Oshawa Mayor John Gray said imitation guns are being used by criminals and children trying to scare others.

"It's the fact that these things are dead ringers for the real thing," Gray told CBC Radio's Metro Morning in an interview Tuesday. "Why don't we just say that we as a society really don't need this?"

Oshawa is following in the footsteps of Scugog Township, north of the city, which was one of the first Ontario municipalities to institute such a bylaw. Since early last year, those under the age of 18 have been prohibited from possessing a replica firearm while on public property or on private property where the public has general access.

Gray said a "compelling presentation" by Durham Regional Police Const. Todd Petzold convinced the city about the dangers of imitation guns.

"We want to avoid that situation where at some point a police officer may find him or herself faced off with someone brandishing a replica gun," said Gray. "That officer's not going to know that it's a replica."

Scugog has experienced visible results since the ban's implementation early last year, said Gray, with schools reporting that replica guns aren't being found in lockers and students aren't carrying them on their waists anymore.

The mayor knew of no statistics on the use of toy guns in crime or schools in his community. He said residents' response to the proposed bylaw has been "quiet."

The bylaw is expected to pass Tuesday night and immediately go into effect if there is no appeal.

If passed, letters will be sent out to stores informing them of the bylaw so they stop stocking their shelves with the fake weapons.

Enforcement of the bylaw would be done by municipal, provincial and federal police.