Gun offences skyrocket in the Pyrenees, Central Goldfields as firearm prohibition orders rise

Gun offences in one part of Victoria have climbed by more than 1000 per cent since firearm prohibition orders were brought in. Find out how common illegal guns are in your LGA.

The number of people with fireban prohibition orders has quintupled in three years.

Gun offences in a local government area in the state’s west have skyrocketed by more than 1000 per cent since firearm prohibition orders (FPOs) were brought in, new data can reveal.

It comes as the number of FPOs in Victoria has quintupled over the past three years to almost 2020 active orders — an increase of about 400 each year since they were brought into place in 2018 according to police.

The increase in orders comes as firearm offences dropped across the state and caused illegal gun prices to soar.

More than 5150 firearm offences were reported in the year ending June 2023, down by about 200 from 2022, and 400 from 2021.

Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said it was evident the FPOs issued were having an impact on firearm offending.

“The legislation is clearly having an effect on the number of individuals able to access firearms,” he said.

“If you look at the statistics, there’s been an increase of 400 FPOs and a reduction in firearm offences across the state each year. There has to be a correlation … the orders appear to be working.”

He said there was a general perception among the community that gun violence was out of control.

“We’re still seeing some prevalent firearm issues, the shooting of underworld figure Gavin Preston a couple of weeks ago speaks to this issue,” he said.

“Obviously police are aware of these issues and are making it harder to get and hang onto firearms.”

In the year ending June 2023, gun offences were most common in the Central Goldfields, with a rate of 316 per 100,000 population.

It’s a marked difference from five years earlier, where the Central Goldfields had a rate of just 90.

But it’s the Pyrenees, just west of Ballarat, that has seen the steepest increase in gun offences per capita since FPOs were first brought in in 2018 — at 1042 per cent.

That area has increased from 13.7 offences per 100,000 population in 2018 to 156.5 in 2023.

Meanwhile Mansfield, traditionally a high offence area, had the biggest decrease at 90 per cent.

Over five years, bikie hotspots in the Swan Hill have consistently remained gun territory.

Mansfield and Towong, both in the state’s northeast, had previously had high offence rates but they dropped significantly in 2023.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said she couldn’t comment on the overall reduction of firearm offences recorded as it was “too broad”.

Among those with FPOs are bikies such as Toby Mitchell, the former Bandidos bikie recently ousted as Mongols boss, and Peter ‘Skitzo’ Hewat of the Melbourne Hells Angels.

Toby Mitchell. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Peter ‘Skitzo’ Hewat. Picture: Ellen Smith

Unlike in South Australia, there is no public register of who has received an FPO or the suburbs where those with FPOs reside.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said FPOs prevented people from using guns or entering places like shooting ranges.

“As the order is linked directly to the person, not a specific location, police can search any property the individual is on and where reasonably required, any of their associates,” she said.

“Once served, the FPO remains in effect for 10 years for adults and five years for children (14-17 years).”

Despite the reduction in firearm offences across the state, Mr Watson-Munro said Victoria now needed to be targeting the emerging issue of knife violence.

“The great tragedy is we’ve made it harder to secure firearms but weapons such as knives are available in every household,” he said.

“There’s been a dramatic escalation of knife crime in Victoria and abroad, that’s the next step we need to be getting on top of.”