The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee Ability of Australian law enforcement authorities to eliminate gun-related violence in the community April 2015 Commonwealth of Australia 2015 ISBN 978-1-76010-187-9 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License. The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/. This document was produced by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee secretariat and printed by the Senate Printing Unit, Department of the Senate, Parliament House, Canberra. ii Members of the committee Members Senator Penny Wright (AG, SA) (Chair) Senator the Hon Ian Macdonald (LP, QLD) (Deputy Chair from 10.07.2014) Senator Catryna Bilyk (ALP, TAS) (from 01.07.2014) Senator Jacinta Collins (ALP, VIC) (from 01.07.2014) Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig (ALP, QLD) Senator Linda Reynolds (LP, WA) (from 01.07.2014) Former members Senator Zed Seselja (LP, ACT) (Deputy Chair until 30.06.2014) Senator Gavin Marshall (ALP, VIC) (until 30.06.2014) Senator the Hon Lisa Singh (ALP, TAS) (until 30.06.2014) Participating member Senator Bridget McKenzie (NATS, VIC) Senator David Leyonhjelm (LDP, NSW) Secretariat Ms Sophie Dunstone, Committee Secretary Ms Leah Ferris, Senior Research Officer Ms Jo-Anne Holmes, Administrative Officer Suite S1.61 Telephone: (02) 6277 3560 Parliament House Fax: (02) 6277 5794 CANBERRA ACT 2600 Email: [email protected] iii iv Table of contents Members of the committee ............................................................................... iii List of abbreviations .........................................................................................xii Recommendations .............................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 Introduction and Background ................................................................................. 1 Referral of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 1 Conduct of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgment .................................................................................................... 2 Note on references .................................................................................................. 2 Structure of the report ............................................................................................. 2 Clarification of the purpose of this inquiry ............................................................ 3 Background and overview of firearm regulation in Australia ................................ 3 Current situation regarding firearm regulation................................................ 7 Chapter 2 Illicit firearms in Australia: quantity and source ................................................ 11 What are illicit firearms? ...................................................................................... 11 Size of the illicit firearms market ......................................................................... 12 Methods of diversion ............................................................................................ 14 Chapter 3 Impact of illicit firearms on the community ........................................................ 33 Firearm-related crime ........................................................................................... 34 Organised crime .................................................................................................... 39 Hotspot mapping .................................................................................................. 40 v Chapter 4............................................................................................................ 43 Regulation of firearms ........................................................................................... 43 National consistency ............................................................................................. 43 Chapter 5............................................................................................................ 61 Effectiveness of registering and licensing firearms ............................................. 61 Chapter 6............................................................................................................ 71 Development of 3D manufactured firearms ........................................................ 71 What is 3D manufacturing? .................................................................................. 71 The development of 3D printed firearms ............................................................. 74 Regulation of 3D firearms .................................................................................... 79 Chapter 7............................................................................................................ 85 Committee comment and recommendations ....................................................... 85 The illicit firearms market .................................................................................... 85 The need for consistent regulatory standards ....................................................... 88 Registration and licensing of firearms .................................................................. 91 Development of 3D printed firearms .................................................................... 92 REPORT BY A MAJORITY OF SENATORS ATTENDING THE INQUIRY ........................................................................................................... 95 Chapter 1: Introduction and Background ........................................................... 95 Referral of the inquiry .......................................................................................... 95 Conduct of the inquiry .......................................................................................... 96 Acknowledgment .................................................................................................. 96 Note on references ................................................................................................ 96 Structure of the report ........................................................................................... 96 Clarification of the purpose of this inquiry .......................................................... 96 Background and overview of firearm regulation in Australia .............................. 97 vi Current situation regarding firearm regulation ................................................... 101 Chapter 2: Illicit firearms in Australia: quantity and source .......................... 107 What are illicit firearms? .................................................................................... 107 Size of the illicit firearms market ....................................................................... 108 Methods of diversion .......................................................................................... 109 Chapter 3: Development of 3D manufactured firearms ................................... 125 What is 3D manufacturing? ................................................................................ 125 The development of 3D printed firearms ........................................................... 128 Regulation of 3D firearms .................................................................................. 133 Chapter 4: ADDITIONAL REMARKS ............................................................. 139 Misinformation not helpful................................................................................. 139 Data Deficiencies - The size and operation of the illicit firearms trade ............. 140 Data Deficiencies - Theft of firearms ................................................................. 141 The Law Enforcement Response to Illegal Firearms ......................................... 142 Importation of illegal firearms............................................................................ 143 3D printers .......................................................................................................... 144 Banning semi-automatic handguns..................................................................... 144 Stricter storage requirements .............................................................................. 145 The Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits of Legal Firearm Use ....... 145 International Comparisons .................................................................................. 147 Response to Chair's Recommendations .............................................................. 148 Additional Majority Recommendations ............................................................. 149 Appendix 1 - Public submissions ................................................................... 151 Appendix 2 - Tabled documents, answers to questions on notice and additional information .................................................................................... 165 vii viii List of abbreviations ACBPS Australian Customs and Border Protection Service ACC Australian Crime Commission AFP Australian Federal Police AGD Attorney-General's Department AIC Australian Institute of Criminology APMC Australasian Police Ministers' Council ARS Armament Research Services COAG Council of Australian