The 100,000th firearm has been registered on the police’s national Firearms Registry.
Firearms Safety Authority executive director Angela Brazier said the goal has been achieved in seven months and represents nearly 10% of the approximately 235,000 licence holders in New Zealand.
She said so far Canterbury is the area with the highest number of firearms registered, at 14,289, and accounts for about 14% of all registrations to date.
At the end of December 2023 there were 35,510 firearms licence holders in the Canterbury district, which is the largest concentration of firearms licence holders for any district in New Zealand.
She said the registry is about preventing firearms getting into the wrong hands and digitising the licensing system enhances the ability to detect unlawful and criminal activity.
“Along with preventing the sale and purchase of stolen firearms, the registry provides a better way for police to trace where firearms used by criminals have come from.
“When fully rolled out, the registry will provide a picture of all lawfully held firearms and arms items in NZ.
“This will give greater transparency when firearms are changing hands and ultimately make the availability of firearms to the black market more difficult,” Brazier said.
