Cities’ top cops back gun registry

From my previous conversations with police officers they feel eliminating the National Gun Registry would be a huge mistake as for the reasons mentioned in these stories. I think any program in place that provides police additional information to prevent a situation from escalating is worth the investment.


Cities’ top cops back gun registry
Mike Carson
Topics :
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police , Canadian Police Boards , SUMMERSIDE , Canada , Charlottetown

SUMMERSIDE – The police chiefs of the Island’s two main municipalities are supporting the need for a long gun registry in Canada.
Summerside Police Chief David Poirier and Charlottetown Police Chief Paul Smith agree mandated registration of long guns is not only a valuable crime fighting tool, but also protects the safety of police officers when encountering volatile situations.
“It’s a great help to any police officer that responds to calls,” Poirier said. “At this stage we can punch in the address if we’re going to a domestic or something in the city or anywhere, we can punch in the address in the system we have which is Canada wide and if there are guns registered to that person or person’s in that household, the information will pop up on the screen.”
Poirier said checking the long gun registry is automatic for police today whenever they are called to the scene of a domestic disturbance, disputes or assaults.
“Our biggest tool right now is when we respond to a call our dispatchers immediately punch in the address of a domestic of some sort and we are notified if there are weapons registered in the household,” he said.
“Domestic (disturbances) are a call that members hate to go on, but you have to. They are very unpredictable. If one or both persons involved are on alcohol or taking drugs it makes it even more serious.”
Poirier aid police have encountered cases where participants “are stone cold sober.”
“They are very unpredictable because the levels of anxiety are way up and our members are always on their guard when we respond to these,” the police chief said.
Charlottetown Police Chief Paul Smith said the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police was to present a resolution on a national firearms policy that includes a recommendation calling for police leaders and officers to explain to politicians and the public the value of the long-gun registry. That resolution was adopted unanimously at the association’s meeting in Edmonton.
“The last page (of the resolution) basically is if the legislation were to change in the fall The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the association of Canadian Police Boards would get together and work from there,” Smith said. “At the end of the day there has been discussion, there have been positions on long-gun registry and in most instances most people are in favour of maintaining the registry.”
Smith agreed that it was an expensive policy to bring in, running at an annual cost of about $4 million.
“It’s not just (for the protection) of officers, we get situations where you can go in and query the registry on a domestic violence incident and find out there’s guns there and pull the guns out of the residence,” he said. “Can you honestly say that because of the registry or because of getting that prohibition in place and seizing those firearms for a period of time has saved a life? You can’t with any certainty that it has but in all likelihood it has.”
He said queries on the registry today are up over 11,000 daily nationwide.
“Information is power and the more information you’ve got when you’re going to different calls the better off you are,” he said