Victoria Police pushing Andrews Government to overhaul firearm prohibition order scheme
In a bid to fight the wave of gun crime plaguing Melbourne, police are demanding the Andrews Government to overhaul gun laws so organised crime figures, bikies and drug kingpins cannot continue to dodge firearm bans.
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Senior police are demanding major changes to bolster Victoria’s firearm prohibition order laws so organised crime figures, bikies, extremists and drug kingpins cannot dodge the gun bans.
The force wants the Andrews Government to reform the scheme, introduced in May last year, to automatically slap the orders on criminals convicted of firearm offences so officers can search them without a warrant.
The Herald Sun can reveal Victoria Police has issued 223 people with gun bans and used the orders to launch raids on 205 properties and vehicles.
A dozen illegal guns have been seized in the crackdown, with police also uncovering hydroponic drug operations, stolen property and other illicit substances.
The push to strengthen the firearm prohibition orders comes in the wake of a spate of shootings across Melbourne that left eight men dead in eight weeks earlier this year.
Anti-gangs division boss Detective Superintendent Peter Brigham told a parliamentary inquiry that police were continuing to issue orders despite a successful legal challenge by a former Rebels bikie boss, which the force hopes to appeal next month.
But he called on the government to make changes to the scheme including:
— Allowing courts to automatically slap gun bans on criminals convicted of firearm offences, rather than police having to begin separate legal proceedings.
— Forcing people subjected to the orders to tell police when they change their address, closing a loophole which helps them avoid scrutiny and causes a “cat and mouse” chase for officers.
— Making the orders compatible with other states so new bans do not have to be applied when people move interstate, with the New South Wales scheme “arguably easier” for police to satisfy.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said: “These tough new firearm laws were what Victoria Police asked for and we’ll continue working with them to target illegal firearms and the serious and organised crime networks who use them.”
Prior to the introduction of the gun bans, senior police and the government suggested they would be applied to at least 2000 people.
Supt Brigham said the low number so far was due to police adjusting to the “new process” as they set “a fairly high bar” for applications.
Orders have only been issued by Crime Command but local police are being trained to seek the gun bans themselves.
Supt Brigham said the expanded rollout would be completed by the middle of next year, which would see the numbers increase.
Department of Justice and Community Safety deputy secretary for police Corri McKenzie told the inquiry Victoria Police had not yet formally requested changes to the laws, but that the department was “looking to understand how the scheme is operating in practice”.
The government has been waiting to see whether police will be able to successfully appeal a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision to overturn a gun ban handed to ex-Rebels bikie Colin Websdale.
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Opposition police spokesman David Southwick accused Premier Daniel Andrews of giving “the green light to violent, armed criminals”.
“Daniel Andrews boasted these laws would be a game changer to get guns off our streets — but their botched roll out has failed to keep the community safe,” Mr Southwick said.
The orders can be issued to anyone who poses a danger to the community but cannot be banned from accessing firearms via other laws because of their clean criminal record.
They can be searched by police if officers suspect they are in possession of a gun or ammunition, and anyone on an order who acquires, carries or uses a gun faces up to 10 years behind bars.
Victoria Police was part of a nationwide gun crackdown last week which saw 91 firearms taken off the streets, 12 people arrested and 44 people charged, with another 10 orders served.