Response to our recommendations about implementing the firearms buy-back and amnesty scheme

We requested an update because we want to provide public transparency on agencies’ responses to our reports.

In our 2020 report, Implementing the firearms buy-back and amnesty scheme, we looked at how well the Police had managed and operated that scheme.

The Police managed the scheme well, but more work needed be done to find out what level of compliance with the scheme had been achieved and the extent to which it had made New Zealanders safer.

We recommended that the New Zealand Police:

• build on their engagement with firearms owners and licensed firearms dealers gained during the firearms buy-back and amnesty scheme to further strengthen relationships and build trust and confidence in how the current and further firearms regulatory framework is implemented;
• improve the information they use to support their regulatory responsibilities for firearms and firearms owners, and their management of that information; and
• design and implement a framework to evaluate the extent to which changes to firearms regulations have made New Zealander safer, including taking steps to find out what level of compliance with the scheme has been achieved, and publicly report the findings of future evaluations to ensure that Parliament, and the public have trust and confidence in their administration of firearms legislation.

We also identified other improvement opportunities that we wanted the Police to consider. We commented that:

• the Police should continue to report publicly on the performance of the scheme until they have completed processing of the applications for endorsements to use newly prohibited firearms for a limited range of purposes; and
• the Police should report to Parliament about the final outcomes of the scheme.

The Police told us they have made progress against all of our recommendations. Read what the Police have said about their progress:

• the full text of Police’s letter in HTML
• Police’s letter in PDF (5 pages, 228kB)

We note that the Police have not yet designed and implemented a framework to evaluate the extent to which changes to firearms regulations have made New Zealanders safer. This means that they have not been able to report publicly, or to Parliament, on this.

However, the Police told us that, before they can evaluate whether changes to firearms legislation and regulations have improved public safety, they are developing an overall firearms system model and performance framework to assess broader changes in legislation and the regulatory operating model. The Police told us this work is required to provide a comprehensive view of “how firearms safety is created and the impact of interventions on safety”.

We have suggested that as the Police further develop this model, they consider what information about it and from it they could provide to Parliament, that describes whether improvements to the safety of New Zealanders are being achieved.

We have not audited the information in the Police’s progress report. However, as with all our work, we might choose to carry out a formal follow-up audit on our recommendations, or any aspect of the 2020 audit, in the future. We will discuss the Police’s progress with the firearms systems model through our regular engagement meetings with the Police. We will also seek further updates from the Police where we consider it relevant to do so.

Photo acknowledgement: New Zealand Police