An audit on how well the Queensland Police Service (QPS) regulates the acquisition, possession, use and disposal of registered firearms has concluded that the QPS could be more effective and that the community is not as well protected as it should be.
Auditor-General, Brendan Worrall said the QPS’s Weapons Licensing Unit, which assesses and approves firearm licences and permits, sometimes grants firearm licences to individuals who have a history of offending behaviour.
“The QPS can strengthen its decision-making controls and guidance to staff to ensure it puts public interest and safety first,” Mr Worrall said.
“The Weapons Licensing Unit has streamlined its licence application process and uses technology to help assess firearm licence applications and permits to acquire firearms.”
However, the audit says it could make better informed decisions by gaining better access to relevant information held by other Agencies, nationally and within Queensland.
Mr Worrall said the QPS could be more proactive in monitoring firearm licence holders as most firearm owners and licence holders were not audited or inspected.
“The Weapons Licensing Unit provides little assurance that firearms are not in the possession of people it considers unsuitable,” Mr Worrall said.
“The unit is largely administrative and is not providing the necessary management, coordination, and oversight of the firearm compliance program,” he said.
“It should use an intelligence-driven or risk‑based monitoring system to ensure that adequate, consistent, and timely monitoring occurs across the State.”
Mr Worrall said that when the QPS identified non-compliance it often failed to perform the necessary follow-up to ensure the licence holder rectified the non-compliance with licence conditions.
“In many cases, the QPS seized firearms from unsuitable people within its 28-day target. However, we found numerous cases where it was slow to seize firearms from people it deemed no-longer suitable, or where licence holders had died,” he said.
“Sometimes these delays meant that the firearms could not be located, and some are still unaccounted for. Consequently, QPS is ineffective in ensuring all firearms are accounted for.”
The auditor made 13 recommendations for the QPS to improve real-time access to information, public interest assessments, compliance monitoring, and tracking the movement of firearms.
The Auditor-General’s 31-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
