Thaindian News

Sydney, March 6 (IANS) Police in Western Australia are faced with an awkward situation after losing track of thousands of weapons, forcing them to admit that its firearms licensing system is in a shambles.

It means that many weapons, including high-powered rifles and pistols, are now held by unlicensed owners in the community. Police do not have an automated database to trace in whose possession the guns are and pinpoint where they are, Perth Now reports.

It all happened due to computer system failure that has compromised Western Australia’s stringent firearms laws, which require that anyone in possession of a gun must be licensed.

Police don’t believe community safety has been compromised. But many unlicensed gun owners may have changed address, making it harder for officers to find them and check their firearms have not entered the black market.

Police admitted the firearms infringement registry, which alerts police to unpaid gun licence renewals, was deactivated in mid-2008 because of technical issues.

Even as police could not officially confirm the exact number of overdue or expired gun licences, police sources said the numbers were likely to run into thousands.

In Western Australia, there are more than 80,000 firearms licence holders, who own about 360,000 guns.

Licensing Enforcement Division assistant director Trudi Angwin said police were undertaking a six-month $635,000 “stabilisation project” of the firearms registry to resurrect the database. But a “significant number” of overdue and expired licences remained outstanding.