COLFO press release
Confirmation today that a register of firearm owners stolen from Auckland Police station covers 2003-2018, means over 67,000 firearm owners and their private addresses may have been in the hands of criminals says
the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO).
COLFO says the Auckland Police were likely to have processed firearm licence applications for Northland, Waitemata, Auckland City, Counties Manukau and Waikato. The total licence holders from those regions in April 2022 was 67,213[1].
The 15-year span is longer than the renewal period, so it is possible that every licensed owner in the upper North Island is on the list – most likely a printed version of a digitally stored register.
COLFO Spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack said the theft is the biggest security breach in recent New Zealand history, matched only by the danger created when the Police gave a firearm licence to the Christchurch terrorist, Brenton Tarrant.
“Let there be no mistake, the ramifications of this theft, and of Police negligence, could be catastrophic. Criminals had, and may still have, a list of possibly 66,000 people and their addresses, where firearms would have been stored,” he said.
Thefts from licensed firearms owners have reduced drastically in the past few years – but the latest security breach could cause thefts to skyrocket.
“COLFO believes that thefts and other criminal incidents enabled by information on this list open the Police to future civil legal proceedings. Any firearms stolen from LFOs in the upper North Island since May could be due to this theft. That makes Police negligence responsible for the thefts, for the endangerment of firearm owners and their families and for what is done with those firearms by criminals,” said Hugh Devereux-Mack. “This new information underlines how appalling was the attempt by Police to play the theft down when it first came to light. If the thieves never acted on the information or passed it on, then only dumb luck may save us. Either way, the scale of public endangerment requires top level resignations.”
While firearms will have been kept securely, determined thieves armed with tools, knowledge and time can break into safes and other security measures. A major protection for owners is therefore that criminals don’t know which properties have firearms.
Hugh Devereux-Mack said the breach shows a digital register is fallible when managed by Police.
“This security breach highlights the grave concern of licensed firearm owners that the planned full firearm register will potentially provide another shopping list for criminals,” he said.
For further information contact: Hugh Devereux-Mack. 027 362 0853
[1] Firearm Licence Holders April 2022
NORTHLAND: 13,414
WAITEMATA: 14,599
AUCKLAND CITY: 5,602
COUNTIES/MANUKAU: 11,159
WAIKATO: 22,439
It’s the Keystone Cops reborn!
The Police are showing themselves to be thoroughly incompetent and lacking judgement. Heads should roll, including Police Assn president Chris \Cahill. Accountability should be the name of the game.