Gangs ‘reluctant’ to hand in illegal guns

Illegal guns are remaining in the hands of organised crime as gang leaders refuse to give them up.

Police have met with more than 50 gang leaders in an effort to get them to comply with firearm law changes before an amnesty ends.

But it is proving to be fruitless, as the patched members remain ‘‘very reluctant’’, Police Commissioner Mike Bush told the justice select committee yesterday.

‘‘We have identified over 100 influential gang leaders and spoken to about half of them about how they are managing this and what their approach and attitude toward that [amnesty] is,’’ Bush said.

After the committee meeting, Bush said communication lines with senior patched gang members had revealed they had a different approach to law-abiding members of the public, in relation to the return of guns.

‘‘They were very reluctant to be part of this.’’ He did not think many patched gang members had handed in their guns.

Police already had a strategy for dealing with gangs and that was what police were using to get to the unlawful firearms, he said.

During organised crime interventions, police located a lot of unlawful firearms, he said. ‘‘If people are in possession of an unlawful firearm this very minute and we know about it, we will be taking the approach we have always taken … we have information, we will be going there.’’

Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement told the committee that out of the 37 adult gangs across the country, 115 key people had been identified and police had met with 53 to talk. Police did not expect patched gang members to front up to collections but were hopeful they would listen and do the right thing, Clement said.

Official figures show that between July 13 and October 29 about 32,659 firearms were collected and more than $62 million had been paid out so far.

Police had talked to nearly 20,000 gun owners at more than 330 collection events around the country, and 200 more will be

‘‘I can guarantee that after that six months, we will be entitled to and will be out there looking for the people who didn’t comply.’’

Police Commissioner Mike Bush

held in the next 50 days, as the end of the six-month amnesty and buyback draws to an end. There would be no extensions. ‘‘This will be a success because after six months, there would have been ample opportunity for good, honest lawabiding people to surrender firearms. I can guarantee that after that six months, we will be entitled to and will be out there looking for the people who didn’t comply,’’ Bush said.

Clement told the committee 67 per cent of the firearms bought in the buyback were in the semiautomatic category.