New laws aimed at taking illegal guns off the streets have been welcomed by Brimbank police following a “concerning trend” of illegal firearm possession and use.
Legislation introduced to State Parliament last month is aimed at lowering the number of unregistered firearms in someone’s possession from 10 to three before it is classed as trafficking, creating a new offence for unlawful manufacture of firearms, and lifting the maximum penalty for theft of a firearm from 10 years’ jail to 15 years’ jail.
Sunshine police’s Inspector Dave Byrt said there had been a spike in the number of illegal firearms found across the north-west.
In June, Star Weekly reported Crime Statistics Agency data showing a jump from 306 weapons and explosives offences in the year to March 31, 2011, to 619 in the 12 months to March 31 this year.
There was a big increase in firearm offences in the north-west over the same period, from 581 to 1332.
“The firearms are being found in vehicles driven by offenders and also in their personal possession,” Inspector Byrt said. “This has been a concerning trend.”
He said most firearms were stolen from legitimate owners before being recycled for illegal use by offenders.
“A wider gamut of offences and an increase in penalties should enhance our scope to prosecute offenders while also providing a disincentive to those who may otherwise consider possessing or carrying illegal firearms.”
MP for St Albans Natalie Suleyman said in State Parliament last week police regularly found guns during routine vehicle intercepts.
“Recently on Ballarat Road in Albion officers found a homemade handgun in a car that they randomly searched,” she said.
“This is a concern for my community in St Albans. Recently M16 rifles and machine guns were seized in raids on homes in the west.
In the west … there has been great concern in the community regarding the rise in firearm offences in what’s been dubbed the red zone [Melbourne’s north-west].
“The high crime rate in the red zone has seen a 13 per cent increase in gun-related crimes between 2012 and 2014, with firearm-related incidents such as drive-by shootings, occurring on average every six days.”
