Gun Control!

Kia Ora,

Since the shooting in Britain there have of course been murmurings about gun control & since the NZ Police Association President was near by some comment has being made comparing the two forces.

So first thing to look at would Gun control make any difference?

Not really, most incidents will occur if a firearm is available or not & recently there has being a spree of knife attacks by males on young children groups in China.

A firearm in most cases will allow someone to do more damage quickly.  Too heavy restrictions will only tip the scales more in favour of those who obtain them illegally, which is where most of those involved in crime get them from.

But then you can go the other avenue which is just as dangerous. Until recently the US state of Arizona has like many states required its citizens to under go testing to gain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Whilst everyone has been up in arms (excuse the pun) over Arizona's  new immigrant law, where anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant can be stopped & asked for papers, no one has commented much on the changing of their gun laws allowing all & sundry to carry a concealed weapon without a permit.

That can be as bad as been too restrictive as you just don't know who is carrying a weapon.

The other side of this is the police response & from a NZ point of view how would we respond.

As the Police Association President on business in the UK pointed out NZ police have better access to firearms than their average British counterpart, but if we are to move towards arming our police, they need better training.

In reality the speed with which these incidents grow we can take a leaf out of the British police book & have a group of specially armed police on permanent duty as the current procedures of getting AOS together resembles keystone cops, whilst the general duty police officer generally unarmed is left to deal with the situation.

So conceivably by the time the AOS are assembled the same situation of someone with good local knowledge could wreck mayhem.

Actually I have being in a situation where this could of happened shortly after leaving the army & entering the industry, asked to guard a house overnight that certain people with a history of violence had threatened to firebomb (& as we found out later in the night threatened to kill the owner as he run from the fire). So a guard was required in the meantime whilst they had time over night to get the AOS together.


People were so scared of these people as they had firebombed houses previously that
no one would let the owner stay with them so he came home.

Another issue is many of the police force do not want to carry weapons, but they do want to be police officers.

I am sure there is a way to accomodate both as they are not the military.

Having a firearm & using it is a huge responsibility & as the Australian security guards found over the weekend it has consequences. One  guard was shot dead in a bungled armed robbery & a firearm taken from one of the guards.

That is what those in the  NZ security industry without adequate training or  experience with firearms have to think about. We do need them in some roles but who should be allowed to use them is another matter.

                                                   http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz