Tēnā koe

I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.

Your reference number is IR-01-24-5275.

You can expect a response to your request on or before 13 March 2024 unless an extension is needed.

Ngā mihi, Michelle
Ministerial Services - Police National Headquarters

-----Original Message-----
From: A Whittle <[FOI #25734 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 14 February 2024 7:35 PM
To: Ministerial Services <[email address]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Official Information request - NZ Firearms Legislation and the Surrender of Firearms

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear New Zealand Police,

Do the following sections of the Arms Act 1983 (version 24 June 2023) or Arms Legislation Act 2020 still apply?

1. Sn 37 (3): The Minister of Finance shall, subject to subsection (4), pay compensation out of a Crown Bank Account for the value of all weapons in a serviceable condition, and for all parts, delivered to a member of the Police in accordance with subsection (2)(d).

- If this Sn no longer applies, when was it repealed?
- If it hasn't been repealed, why are LFO's being told they will not be compensated for firearms surrendered to the Police?

2. Sn 60: Improvement Notices

- Does the FSA has the authority to issue an Improvement Notice under sn 60?
- If a LFO is found to unknowingly possess a prohibited firearm, with no malicious intent (eg a genuine oversight or perhaps when sorting the estate of a deceased person), can Police issue an Improvement Notice to allow time for the LFO to comply and/or modify the firearm to make it compliant?
- If an Improvement Notice cannot be issued, why not?
- Why are firearms ordered to be surrendered and destroyed, or seized, in such circumstances as described above, instead of being issued an Improvement Notice?
- Where does it state in the legislation that modifications can no longer be made to ensure firearms are compliant with legislation, rather they must be surrendered for destruction?

3. Sn 70 (1): Without limiting the operation of any other provisions of this Act as to the disposal of any firearm, airgun, pistol, restricted weapon, imitation firearm, prohibited magazine, prohibited part, pistol carbine conversion kit, ammunition, or explosive seized or detained under this Act, any such firearm, airgun, pistol, restricted weapon, imitation firearm, prohibited magazine, prohibited part, pistol carbine conversion kit, ammunition, or explosive that has been detained for not less than 12 months may be disposed of in such manner as the Commissioner may direct.

- Please confirm that any surrendered and/or detained firearm will be held for a minimum of 12 months before disposal.
- With pending Firearms Legislation changes, will LFO's have their seized firearms returned should the status or category of such firearms change and they no longer be restricted and/or prohibited?

Yours faithfully,

A Whittle

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WARNING
The information contained in this email message is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this message or any of its contents.
Also note, the views expressed in this message may not necessarily reflect those of the New Zealand Police. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately

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Tēnā koe

 

Please find attached the response relating to your Official Information
Act request, received by Police on 14 February 2024.

 

Ngā mihi

Lisa

Ministerial Services

Police National Headquarters

 

===============================================================

WARNING

The information contained in this email message is intended for the
addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be
subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which
creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you
are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this
message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this
message or any of its contents. Also note, the views expressed in this
message may not necessarily reflect those of the New Zealand Police. If
you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the
sender immediately