WELLINGTON: More than 100,000 firearms have now been registered on New Zealand’s new firearms registry, police said on Monday.
This is about 10 percent of the approximately 235,000 license holders in New Zealand, Xinhua news agency reported.
Police said licensed firearms owners across the country have responded well to the registry, with it taking only seven months to reach the 100,000th gun registered in the system.
Angela Brazier, executive director of the Firearms Safety Authority, said Canterbury is the region with the highest number of firearms registered, and it is also the region with the highest number of license holders.
The new firearms registry system was introduced following the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, Canterbury on March 15, 2019, which killed 51 worshippers.
The mass shooting prompted criticism about the illegal acquisition of firearms in New Zealand.
“The purpose of the Firearms Registry is to prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands. Digitizing the licensing system increases our ability to detect illegal and criminal activity,” Brazier said.
In addition to preventing the sale and purchase of stolen firearms, the registry provides police with a better way to trace where firearms used by criminals came from, he said.
Disrupting the flow of firearms to criminals works in conjunction with other police initiatives that target organized criminal groups and gangs, he said, adding that these strategies are making it harder for criminals to possess and use firearms.
The registry will provide a picture of all firearms and weapons items legally held in New Zealand, which will provide greater transparency when firearms change hands and ultimately make it more difficult for firearms to be available on the black market, Brazier said.
