Law of the gun
Sunday Times, Page: 39. Sunday, 31 May, 2009
A national gun database is being considered to combat problems caused by registered firearms being moved from state to state.
The move is being investigated by CrimTrac, a federal organisation that assists state police forces.
CrimTrac chief executive Ben McDevitt said there were differences in the way firearms were managed state by state and a national network could lead to quicker apprehension of criminals involved in gun-related crimes.
Firearms owners must license their weapons for the state in which they live.
To take a gun into another state, they are required to apply for a temporary permit or another licence for that state. Many fail to comply.
Mr McDevitt said inconsistencies in identification and registration mistakes had the potential to hamper police investigations between states.
“Jurisdictions may have differentiated approaches based on the disparate systems and the diverse legal and policy frameworks,” he said.
“A key element for consideration is the establishment of a common framework for the identification, description and definition of firearms. (The system) may be able to support police investigations through the provision of information about the identification of firearms.
“This may narrow down possible matches against recovered stolen firearms or firearms used in crimes where serial numbers have been defaced or parts have been found at a crime scene. It may also help in identification of re-birthed firearms.” WA Police have revealed plans for post offices to receive firearms applications from September, as part of measures designed to return more frontline officers to the beat.
Police would still process and assess the applications, but firearms dealers would conduct safety and identification checks.
Police Commissioner Karl O ‘Callaghan said the change would free up valuable police resources, both front-line police and customer service officers, for other duties.
“In 2007, police stations dealt with more than 24,000 public contacts about firearms licences. That’s a lot of front counter business. We expect that having licensing decisions centralised will lead to more consistent decisions.” There are 269 licensed dealers and 246,895 licensed firearms in WA. Police cannot say how many unregistered firearms are in the community.
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