Source: New Zealand Police (National News)
Firearms owners from the Bay of Plenty District have engaged early and well, registering their firearms in the new Registry.
Firearms licence holders from Tauranga, Whakatāne and Rotorua, have registered 10,098 firearms to date, just behind Central District’s 12,119 registered firearms, Southern District’s 12,616, and Canterbury’s 14,289 firearms registered.
Licenced firearms owners across the country have responded well to the Registry, with it taking just seven months to get to the 100,000th firearm recorded into the system. This is from nearly ten percent of the approximately 235,000 licence holders in New Zealand.
Te Tari Pūreke – Firearms Safety Authority Executive Director, Angela Brazier, says she’d like to thank all responsible firearms owners who have filled in the Registry and is urging all of Bay of Plenty’s 24,762 firearms licence holders to register their firearms.
“The Firearms Registry is all about preventing firearms getting into the wrong hands. Digitising the licencing system enhances our ability to detect unlawful and criminal activity.
“Along with preventing the sale and purchase of stolen firearms, the Registry provides a better way for Police to trace where firearms used by criminals have come from.”
Disrupting the flow of firearms to criminals works in tandem with other Policing initiatives that target organised criminal groups and gangs. These separate but complementary strategies are together making it harder for criminals to possess and use firearms and are making our communities safer.
“When fully rolled out, the Registry will provide a picture of all lawfully held firearms and arms items in New Zealand. This will give greater transparency when firearms are changing hands and ultimately make the availability of firearms to the black market more difficult,” Ms Brazier says.
To register your firearms online head to www.firearmssafetyauthority.govt.nz or give us a call on 0800 844 431 (Monday to Friday 8.30am-5pm, except public holidays).
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre
