Criminal use of handguns in Australia

Handgun theft

In 2004-05 1,470 firearms were reported stolen; 96 were handguns (7 %).
25, 171 firearms were reported stolen from 1994-95 to 1999-2000. 14 percent of these were handguns.

40 percent (n=39) were semi-automatic pistols. Revolvers comprise around 30 percent (n=27).

Predominantly stolen from private residential premises (60% of all handgun thefts, n=58) and business premises (28%, n=27).
88 percent (n=42) of hand gun theft incidents occured in urban locations.

Based on available information, handguns stolen in three incidents in 2004-05 were later used in a murder, a suicide and an armed robbery.

Most handguns were stolen from New South Wales (40%, n=38), Queensland (28%, n=27) and Western Australia (21%, n=20).
Of the larger jurisdictions, the percent of registered handgun theft in 2004-05 was: New South Wales (0.10), Victoria (0.01); Queensland (0.06); Western Australia (0.05); South Australia (0.00) Tasmania (0.21).

In 2004-05, there were 40 firearm homicides (15%); 16 involved handguns.
Only 2 handguns were registered; one to the victim, and one to the offender.
There has been a decreasing trend in the use of firearms to commit homicide (from 28% in 1992-93 to 15% in 2004-05).
Handguns as a percentage of all homicides was increasing and is now declining (from 4% in 1992-93 to 10% in 00/01 to 6% in 2004-05).

Five % indicated they owned/possessed a handgun in the past 12 months.
Of those who owned a handgun, 6 percent were licensed, and 8 percent were registered.
30 percent said they had used/threatened to use a handgun in a crime.

April 1996 (Port Arthur): prohibition of semi-automatic and automatic rifles and shotguns andpump action shotguns. Introduced national licensing and registration system and limitation to firearms ownership (satisfactory reason and fitness of ownership).
October 2002 (Monash Shooting): Council of Australian Governments (COAG: comprising of each state and territory government and the Commonwealth) agreed in December 2002 to tighten the control of handguns used for sports shooting and those held as part of an historical collection.
July 2003 COAG agreed the classes of handguns permitted for sports shooting purposes be restricted on the basis of calibre, barrel length and magazine/shot capacity.
- Sporting shooters be prohibited from importing, purchasing, possessing or using a handgun which has:
  - a calibre that is greater than .38 (unless the handgun is used to participate in a specially accredited event such as metallic silhouette and single (or western) action
  - a barrel length of less than 120 mm for semi-automatic handguns and 100 mm for revolvers and single-shot handguns.