Submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee Inquiry into the ability of Australian law enforcement authorities to eliminate gun-related violence in the community Submission from: August, 2014 2 CONTENTS Summary ................................................................................................................... 3 Statistics..................................................................................................................... 5 Australian Crime Commission .............................................................. 6 New South Wales Police ...................................................................... 7 Australian Institute of Criminology ........................................................ 8 Firearm registries .................................................................................................. 9 Community benefits ............................................................................................. 9 Invasive animals ................................................................................. 9 Economic benefits ............................................................................. 10 Social impact .................................................................................... 11 Sources of firearms used in crime ............................................................... 11 Anomalies in legislation and weaknesses in registration regimes .......... 11 New South Wales ............................................................................. 11 Queensland ..................................................................................... 12 Registration of firearms ..................................................................... 12 Imported illegal firearms .................................................................... 13 Theft ................................................................................................ 16 Federal/state differences ................................................................................. 22 3 Summary of submission o The Committee should broaden its inquiry to include the economic, environmental and social contribution recreational shooters make to the community and the possible adverse effect that changes to laws and regulations that reduce legal firearm ownership might have on the community. o Responsibility for the registration and licensing of firearms and of shooters should be removed from the police and given to an independent state government body such as the bodies which register motor vehicles, a similar function for which the involvement of police is not necessary. Police unions assert that firearm ownership, legal or illegal, is a health and safety issue and prosecute that policy with great energy, including through their involvement with government advisory committees. Thus, it is reasonable to believe that police forces have a conflict of interest in being responsible for the registration and licensing of firearms and of shooters and it certainly appears that they have. Further the notorious unreliability of statistics compiled by firearms‘ registries demonstrates their inability to discharge this responsibility competently. o However the security risks associated with contracting out responsibility for the registering and licensing of firearms and firearm owners to third parties such as post offices are too high. o Most of the firearms in the illegal market have emanated or emanate from either loopholes in state regimes before 2000 which subsequently have been addressed or guns imported illegally. o Hand guns are the most popular firearm of choice in the commission of crimes. The Glock pistol is a status symbol in major drug cartels. Few firearms stolen from registered shooters are suitable for use in criminal activity. o According to the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC): handgun thefts make up less than 10 per cent of firearm thefts a year, restricted Category C and D firearms (such as pump action shotguns and semi-automatic rifles) have rarely featured in firearm theft reports, and very few stolen firearms are known to have been used to commit a subsequent criminal event (or found in the possession of persons charged with other serious offences e.g. supply of a prohibited drug). o The most effective way to reduce the number of firearms used for violent purposes is reduce the level of crime, and in particular drug-related crime. 4 Most crimes involving firearms are drug related, whether they are motivated by protecting a business, collecting payments or stealing to get money to buy drugs. However, the bulk of police resources and customs resources relating to firearms are devoted to managing air-rifles, .22 rimfire rifles, shotguns and bolt action centrefire rifles for licensed shooters. The present priorities need to be reversed so that most of the available law enforcement resources are devoted to: devising comprehensive systems to identify and collect accurate, relevant data and to enable those systems to be administered effectively; frontline operations to — confiscate drugs and illegal firearms, and disrupt and eliminate the networks for acquiring firearms illegally and acquiring and distributing drugs; and intelligence gathering to support these operations. o According to the AIC: in 2006–07 there were around 2.6 million known registered firearms, and between 2004–05 and 2008–09, an average of 1,545 firearms were reported as stolen, of which 12 per cent were recorded as recovered (leaving about 1360 guns which probably is still an over-estimate of the numbers). This number is statistically insignificant. The number of handguns stolen (less than 100 a year) is even more so. o It is easy to focus on registered shooters because they are a soft target, but banning semi-automatic handguns or putting further impositions on — recreational shooters by making storage requirements more onerous and expensive, or on dealers by making the transport or storage of guns, ammunition powder or components more onerous and expensive, will not reduce the level of gun-related violence. o The validity and accuracy of data cited to support policies related to registration, theft and use of firearms for criminal purposes cannot be assumed; nor can it be assumed that relevant, verifiable data exists. o Resources need to be allocated to the identification and collection of data which would enable an informed discussion and informed decision-making about issues related to firearms and which is publicly available. o Differences in various states and territories between laws and regulations and their interpretation do not necessarily constitute anomalies. They may simply 5 reflect the intention of our Federation which assumes that states order their affairs and activities to reflect the needs and circumstances of that state. o An assumption that differences constitute an anomaly also would appear to be counter to the views of the Federal government which has made clear its desire to strengthen and restore the role of the states. o Nevertheless there is a significant level of national cohesion with respect to the management and administration of firearm and shooter registration and licensing. o Anomalies, such as states and territories not recognizing licences issued in another state or territory, need to be examined on a case-by-case basis. Statistics 1. A frustration in discussions about gun-related issues is the lack of publicly available, verifiable, primary data which form the basis of statistics produced and theories formulated. 2. To quote Dr. Don Weatherburn, Director of the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, ‗there's been a long tradition in police services of not releasing information, or releasing it when it suited police‘.1 3. Perhaps one reason for this culture is self-serving. To quote ABC presenter Ian Townsend, ‗In Australia, the research is also restricted, but it's not so much a lack of funding but a lack of access to reliable statistics‘; and ‗the country's gun statistics are in a mess.‘2 4. That the lack of publicly available, comprehensive and verifiable data has serious ramifications, ought to be a serious concern and should be a matter for inquiry by this Committee is demonstrated by: o the fact that Western Australia did not submit its 2008-09 data for the Australian Institute of Criminology‘s firearm theft report, and o the following qualification in AIC‘s last report: ‗Without access to data regarding changes in the number of firearms registered in Australia it is not possible to discern whether this increase in stolen firearms is influenced by a general increase in legally-owned firearms or rather, that it is a genuine indication that theft numbers are on the rise‘.3 5. This deficiency leads to the conclusion that the data necessary to develop informed and effective policies does not exist and that what purports to be data is at best estimates, a conclusion reinforced by contradictory statements made from time to time either publicly or at advisory meetings. 1. ‗Guns are back‘, Ian Townsend, Radio National, 13th November, 2011 2. ‗Guns are back‘ 3. Firearm Theft in Australia 2008-09, Samantha Bricknell, Australian AIC of Criminology, p. 2 6 6. Following are some examples. Australian Crime Commission (ACC) In 2012 the then Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Justice wrote to the then Member for Deakin4 saying the final report of the ACC on the illegal firearms market revealed