Debate on tighter gun control must be based on clearer info
THERE’S something rotten in the state of Victorian and NSW police crime statistics.Both forces show a doubling in firearm thefts within just 12 months.
For Victoria, thefts jumped from 426 in 2010-11 to 763 in 2011-12. Since then firearm thefts have hovered around the 700 mark, with 739 stolen in 2016-17.
It’s a similar story in NSW, where thefts jumped from 439 in 2009-10 to 700 in the following year. Thefts have remained in the 700s ever since.
So, what’s going on and why does it matter?
When asked, Crime Statistics Australia, which took over responsibility for managing the database in 2015, handballed the issue to the police forces, who couldn’t provide an answer.
There are clearly problems with the data that make it almost impossible to compare years.
We can also see the statistics include “firearms” that have no fire. When firearm thefts hit a high of 773 in 2015-16, it included the theft of 149 paintball guns and 29 air rifles and a “barrel”.
The most recent statistics for Victoria include the theft of 43 air rifles, five imitation guns and a cluster of “other firearms” that allows the inclusion of glue guns, flare guns, nail guns and any other device that includes the word gun in police reports.It’s hard to imagine these “weapons” posing a major risk to society.
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