COLFO News Issue # 1 February 2024http://colfo.org.nzThat RegisterIn mid January Police issued a press release trumpeting the success of the firearmsregister, when only 100,000 firearms had been registered in the first 7 months since itsintroduction in June 2023. This represents just under 10% of licensed firearm owners.COLFOs observations on this are that many firearm owners are holding off registeringtheir firearms in protest at the way the previous government treated the firearmcommunity following the tragic events of March 2019. Also many are waiting to see ifthe new government will scrap the register, it being too costly for any perceivedimprovement to public safety. Firearm owners also view the register as a threat to theirpersonal safety and security following a number of government data breeches.In a separate survey conducted for COLFO, 2/3 of people said the register would notreduce gun crime.Many firearm retailers have reported a dramatic reduction in gun sales since the registerwas introduced, as purchase of a new gun would trigger a requirement for a person toregister all their guns within 30 days. Ammunition purchases on the other hand havecontinued unabated as these do not currently require or trigger registration.While it is reported that staff at the Firearm Safety Authority are generally helpful tothose interacting with the register, a number of anomalies and errors have beenencountered particularly when using the online portal.While it is not anticipated that criminals or gangs will register their guns, COLFOreminds all members to abide by the law as it currently stands and not to engage in anytrading “off the books”.Districts and firearms registered:• Canterbury - 14,289• Southern - 12,616• Central - 12,119• Bay of Plenty - 10,098• Waitemata - 8582• Waikato - 8189• Tasman - 7076• Wellington - 7069• Counties Manukau - 5839• Eastern - 5313• Auckland City - 4420• Northland - 4235• Other locations - 512COLFO Trust & Confidence SurveyTrust has not improved with the new Firearm Safety AuthorityOver the holiday period COLFO conducted a survey to gauge the level of trust andconfidence in Police and their administration of the Arms Act and Regulations. Theresults show that our trust in the police is at an all time low.Respondents were asked to gauge their confidence on a scale of 0 (low) to 10 ( high),1134 people took the survey, 97.59 % being licensed firearm owners.Trust in Police to “fairly balance the promotion of possession and use of firearms withthe need to impose controls on unlawful activity” scored the lowest of all questions withan average of 1.3 out of 10.Police administering the act without personal bias scored an average of 1.6 out of 10,down from 2.1 in 2022 and 2021. Confidence in turnaround time for licensing scored a2.0 out of 10, only slightly up from the 2022 score of 1.9 which came at a time of 12-month waits for license renewals.COLFO spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack said the survey shows the relationshipbetween Police and Licensed Firearm Owners has continued to deteriorate.“Our survey shows that the 100,000 firearms so far registered is only evidence ofcompliance, not confidence in the Police or system. “Firearm owners are registeringbecause the law requires them to do so when they reapply for a license or endorsement,move address, or purchase a new firearm.This year the survey also asked firearm owners who had registered their firearms abouttheir experience with the system. License holders who have registered their firearmsfound the phone system much easier to use, rating it a 4.5 out of 10 compared to a 2.5out of 10 for the online system.The establishment of the Firearms Safety Authority has not bettered Police relationswith firearm owners. Firearm owner confidence in the new authority scored a meagre1.9 out of 10.Media EventsThe above two stories have provided excellent opportunities for our spokesperson HughDevereux - Mack to put our points across on national TV and radio.Government Coalition AgreementAs part of the new governments coalition agreement firearms law will be reviewed andreformed. - Immediately begin to repeal and replace Part 6 of the Arms Act 1983relating to clubs and ranges, rewrite the Arms Act 1983 to provide greater protection ofpublic safety and simplify regulatory requirements to improve compliance, transferresponsibility for the Arms Act 1983 to the Ministry of Justice and the Firearms SafetyAuthority away from Police, and review whether the Firearms Registry is improvingpublic safety