Coote, John. 1995 ‘Response to Licensing Query.’ Letter to Philip Alpers. New Zealand Police Firearms Licensing Coordinator. 4 December

Relevant contents

Q: Please advise why it is that handguns, MSSAs and restricted weapons are individually registered in addition to their owners being licensed.

A: These firearms are individually recorded (registered) because they are considered the types of firearms which need to have a number of additional controls on them; to restrict their numbers, to ensure they are only possessed by a limited of licence holders, to ensure they are not easily stolen or obtained by unauthorised people and to prevent their misuse.

The individual recording is considered a viable control only because there are other controls in place as well; such as special licence endorsements which require extra vetting procedures, special security requirements, permits to procure, regular checks by Police and restrictions on their use.

In addition the numbers of these firearms and the number of licence holders who have them is relatively small when compared to the total numbers of firearms and licence holders in New Zealand.

This makes it possible for Police, with limited resources available, to properly administer the requirements relating to them.

It is also possible to maintain effective import controls on these firearms, again because the numbers are small, the demand for them is not great, and because New Zealand does not have a land border with another country.