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CI Times Weekly | Current Issue 439|23 March 2012

Firearms laws under review
Police Commissioner Maara Tetava has initiated a review of the current firearms laws in the Cook Islands, according to Inspector John Strickland. The current laws, which fall under the Arms Ordinance Act 1955, are outdated and in serious need of a review and update. Strickland commented, “Last year the commissioner of police decided to look at reviewing our existing Arms Ordinance Act, for various reasons. A lot of that is looking at the process of securing a firearms license, or even procuring a firearm here in the Cook Islands. What is the process that we should adopt for one to be licensed to have a firearm? That’s what this is all about.”
Strickland will lead the team for the review process and says his aim is to have some changes approved and implemented by July of this year. The next step in moving the review forward is community consultation. Strickland is calling for volunteers to become committee members who can help steer this process. “It’s a similar approach that I adopted when we did the Warrant of Fitness review... I’d like to have some members of the community – firearm owners – to be part of the committee in this process. I’d like to act on this as soon as possible.” Strickland added that he has already enlisted the help of Henry Wichman and RSA President Dennis Dwane to be on the steering committee for the review. “If others are interested, by all means contact me or these two colleagues.”
It is likely that the Cook Islands will adopt firearms legislation and licensing processes similar to what New Zealand currently has in place. According to Strickland, some of the likely changes will see increased background checks, including previous firearms experience, for individuals who apply for a firearms permit. He added that theory and practical tests are likely to be implemented. “I think in New Zealand they’ve got to go through a theory test, then they’ve got to go through practical [tests] and have a clear understanding of what the bolt is, how you dismantle your firearm, that kind of thing. You’ve got to know all the basics of the firearm. Basically it’s all about safety.” Another example of safety measures planned for introduction will be the requirement for proper storage within the home of all firearms. Strickland commented, “We’re looking at that because a lot of our people today do not even have that type of facility – the firearm is exposed or left lying down somewhere, or under the bed... we are going to be strict on this now.”
While Strickland says the record within the Cook Islands with incidents involving misuse of firearms has been “pretty good”, there is a high number of firearms in the Cook Islands. While that number includes those that are registered, he believes there are many more unregistered firearms in the Cook Islands. He cites this as one of the main reasons why the firearms amnesty was held last year, as well as why there has been a ban on the importation of firearms into the country for the last two years. “This is the whole idea – it’s time to put all this into place. My important message is that I’m looking for experts – volunteers who are serious about this – to come in and work with us on our team and to do some consultation. I want to hear their views. We need to look at how the people really feel about this... It’s all about safety, training, awareness.”
Interested parties should contact Inspector Strickland on 22499 - extension 2116, Henry Wichman on 55790 or Dennis Dwane on 28213. -Ngariki Ngatae

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