Southern gun owners topping firearms registration

South Island firearms owners, especially those from the Southern and Canterbury Police districts, are leading the way in the new Firearm Registry.

Licenced firearms owners across the country have responded well to the Registry, says Te Tari Pūreke - Firearms Safety Authority Executive Director, Angela Brazier, with it taking just seven months to get to the 100,000th firearm recorded into the system.

This is from nearly 10% of the approximately 235,000 licence holders in New Zealand.

So far, Canterbury is the area with the highest number of firearms registered with 14,289 and Southern is a close second with 12,616.

"This result isn’t surprising as at the end of December 2023, there were 35,510 firearms licence holders in the Canterbury District, and 32,165 in Southern, which are the two largest concentrations of firearms licence holders in the country," Brazier says.

"The Firearms Registry is all about preventing firearms getting into the wrong hands. Digitising the licencing system enhances our ability to detect unlawful and criminal activity.

"Along with preventing the sale and purchase of stolen firearms, the Registry provides a better way for Police to trace where firearms used by criminals have come from."

Disrupting the flow of firearms to criminals works in tandem with other Policing initiatives that target organised criminal groups and gangs, she says.

"These separate but complementary strategies are together making it harder for criminals to possess and use firearms and are making our communities safer."

When fully rolled out, the Registry will provide a picture of all lawfully held firearms and arms items in New Zealand.

"This will give greater transparency when firearms are changing hands and ultimately make the availability of firearms to the black market more difficult."

To register your firearms online head to www.firearmssafetyauthority.govt.nz or call on 0800 844 431 (Monday to Friday 8.30am-5pm, except public holidays).