37859 (2024). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Minister of Police

37859 (2024). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Minister of Police: How many firearms offenses have been committed since 14 May 2024, broken down by how many resulted in charges being laid, and how many of those offenders were firearm license holders?

Hon Mark Mitchell: I am advised that Police considers firearms-related offences to be any offences in the Arms Act 1983 or any other offences that specify a firearm was involved (eg, robbery with a firearm). I am advised that between 14 May 2024 and 31 May 2024, there were 340 such firearms-related offences. Note that one occurrence may have multiple offences. Of these 340 offences, 160 offences have resulted in a police prosecution as at 16 June 2024. One of the 160 offences had at least one offender who had a standard firearms licence at the time of the offence. The number of offences is given rather than number of people for ease of comparison; this is because the same offence could have multiple offenders and one offender could be involved in multiple offences and different offenders in the same offence could have different firearms licence statuses. It is important to note that these offences are not convictions – they may still be before the courts, individuals may have been proceeded against via other means, or may have been charged and subsequently acquitted. Some offences may still be under investigation and therefore no offender has yet been identified. This data is drawn from a dynamic operational database and is subject to change as new information is recorded or updated.