Northern beaches gun owners surrender third highest number of firearms in NSW gun amnesty

EARLY 300 guns were handed in on the northern beaches during the National Firearms Amnesty – the third-highest of all the police commands in NSW.

Some of the guns handed in during the National Firearm Amnesty

NEARLY 300 guns were handed in on the northern beaches during the National Firearms Amnesty – the third-highest of all the police commands in NSW.

Nearly 10,000 firearms and firearm-related items – including 602 handguns and 1575 shotguns – were surrendered to police and dealers in NSW as part of the amnesty, which ran from July 1 to September 30.

Another 13,729 firearms were handed in for registration and 2101 guns were acquired by dealers.

Some of the guns handed in

Of the top 10 local area commands (LACs) to receive the most surrendered firearms, firearm-related items and prohibited weapons, nine were outside metropolitan Sydney.

Oxley LAC received the most with 1322 items, followed by Tuggerah Lakes LAC with 300, with Northern Beaches LAC being the highest in Sydney with 295 items.

NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys, says the response to the amnesty had been overwhelming.

“It’s extremely encouraging to see community members recognising the danger posed by these weapons and doing the right thing by handing them in or having them registered,” he said.

“There has been a really strong response across the state which means there are now fewer unwanted or unregistered guns on our streets.”

Some of the guns handed in

But as figures released by The Greens earlier this month using information obtained from the police showed, there are still 10,631 registered firearms on the northern beaches and an unknown number of unregistered ones.

One person who is not a licensed gun collector who lives in the Terrey Hills-Duffys Forest postcode has a private arsenal of 211 guns and is in seventh place in NSW for a single person owning so many guns.

A resident of the Belrose-Davidson postcode owns 181 guns, one at Narrabeen owns 147 and one at Collaroy owns 144.

A few of the guns handed in to police on the northern beaches. Picture: Annika Enderborg

Altogether, 2539 residents of the northern beaches own 10,631 guns – the equivalent of one gun for every 25 people on the peninsula, including children.

Licensed gun collectors are excluded from the figures because all their guns are inoperable.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the northern beaches featured high on the list of NSW postcodes because of the wealth of many of the people living here.

“It’s clear that some people have a fetish for guns and it creates a valid concern for the community,” he said.