CORONAVIRUS — FIREARMS LICENSING
431. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I refer to the restrictions on the
sale of firearms and ammunition that came into force on 27 March 2020.
(1) Noting the comments of the Premier on ABC radio on
23 April 2020 that this decision was in response to a ''huge run
on applications for firearms'', how many applications were received by
the Western Australia Police Force, by week, for the months of February and
March?
(2) How many
applications for firearms were declined on the grounds of the COVID-19
pandemic?
(3) How many
applications have been received for a refund, and how many applications have
been refunded to date?
(4) How many
officers are employed in the licensing enforcement division of the Western Australia
Police Force, and how many of these officers were redeployed to frontline
positions arising from the restrictions on gun shops and the moratorium on
applications for firearms?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Police.
(1) For the week
ending 7 February 2020, 192; the week ending 14 February 2020, 211; the week
ending 21 February 2020, 214; the week ending 28 February 2020, 226; the week
ending 6 March 2020, 174; the week ending 13 March 2020, 255; the week ending
20 March 2020, 257; the week ending 27 March 2020, 403; and for 30 and 31 March
2020, 125.
(2) A total of 1 073 applications
were declined.
(3) A total of 1 073 refunds have
been processed.
(4) There are
101.5 full-time equivalent sworn and unsworn officers attached to the licensing
enforcement division. Ten officers were redeployed from the LED to frontline
duties in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.