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Canberra Today 12°/16° | Saturday, March 30, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

ACT agrees to a national guns register

THE ACT has made an agreement with other jurisdictions to better address gun crime by developing a national firearms registry and a national ballistics identification network.

Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Simon Corbell made the agreement at the Standing Council of Police and Emergency Management meeting in Melbourne today.

“While the ACT does not see some of the higher levels of firearm related crime that is emerging in  larger jurisdictions, we must continue to work hard to ensure that our laws and information sharing arrangements with other jurisdictions are up-to-date,” Corbell said.

“We know that criminal activity does not respect borders and this decision today shows that  governments are acting to further bolster arrangements between state and territory policing agencies  to better protect members of the community.”

The latest criminal justice statistical profile showed a 30 per cent decrease in weapons offences over the year.

“Poor information collection can lead to incorrect firearm classification or poor firearm tracing. This  creates risks for law enforcement’s ability to target and respond to firearms crime,” Corbell said.

“Improved information sharing and data collection across all Australian jurisdictions is an essential step forward in reducing firearm related crime, and improving law enforcement’s ability to target and  respond to such crime.

“These steps will deliver significant and lasting benefits for firearms regulation and law enforcement  activities.”

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