Question On Notice No. 512 asked in the Legislative Council on 28 November 2017 by Hon Rick Mazza
Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment representing the Minister for Police
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
Can the Minister please advise:
(a) the rate of recovery of stolen firearms; and
(b) what operational initiatives are being undertaken to increase the recovery rate?
Answered on 13 March 2018
The Western Australian Police Force advise the following;
(a) The recovery rate varies from year to year. An Australian Institute of criminology report released in 2017 noted that across Australia stolen firearms were recovered by police from 14% of reported firearms theft incidents; rates varied between jurisdictions. Between 1 November 2016 and 31 October 2017, in Western Australia the recovery rate was 15.6%.
(b) The Western Australia Police Force investigate stolen firearm offences in accordance with current Investigative Practices. Should police receive intelligence regarding stolen firearms, this is acted upon to recover these items. Initiatives such as amnesties can also recover stolen or unlicensed firearms.