FIREARMS FACTS

FIREARMS FACTS - UPDATE

WHY ALL INFORMATION IN THE GUN REGISTRY

MUST BE “VERIFIED” AS ACCURATE!

May 14, 2003

SOLICITOR GENERAL WAYNE EASTER: Hansard - May 14, 2003:

"Not all of the firearms entered in the Canadian firearms registry require verification."

To put Solicitor General Wayne Easter's statement about verification of firearms in perspective one needs to know the position of the Canadian Police Association on this issue and what the Canadian Firearms Centre's own "Firearm Uniqueness Study" says.

CANADIAN POLICE ASSOCIATION: 1999 Resolutions - Page 18:

"The credibility and accuracy of registration information is paramount in ensuring the system meets the expectations of Canadian police officers. The Canadian Police Association recommends that the Auditor General of Canada conduct a thorough review of the firearms registration system to include: 1. Verification of the accuracy of information being collected in the firearms registration database;"

CANADIAN FIREARMS CENTRE FIREARMS UNIQUENESS STUDY:

"Finding #1 - There is an identified investigative, legal and evidentiary need to uniquely identify all firearms in Canada."

"Recommendations #1 - THE REGISTRY SHOULD UNIQUELY IDENTIFY ALL FIREARMS IN CANADA."

Mandatory Fields Required for Uniqueness

Class: non-restricted: Type, Action, Serial #

Class: restricted/prohibited: Type, Action, Serial #, Make, Model, Calibre, Barrel Length

JUSTICE DEPT. ADMITS 40-48% ERROR RATE IN OLD GUN REGISTRY

The following quote is from a copy of a document dated October 22, 1997 sent by fax from the Department of Justice to the RCMP titled, APPENDIX 4 - RATIONAL FOR REGISTRATION states: "The current registry of restricted firearms (1.2 million guns) has experienced 40 to 48% error rate. These human errors are often misplaced digits or errors in filling out the form."

NOTE: This document was obtained from the RCMP by way of an Access to Information Act request initiated on September 25, 2001 and responded to on December 5, 2002 - RCMP File: 01ATIP-43167

APPENDIX 4 - RATIONAL FOR REGISTRATION

WHY CONFIRM THE DATA COLLECTED?

ANSWER 1. TRUST THE DATA

- Faith in the data contained in the system is mission critical for everyone who will use the data.

- Implementing a registry will mean that we have collected some information about gun owners. Confirming this information greatly increases the trust we place on the data.

- Police need to have faith in the registry system. Even the NFA agrees that unconfirmed information reduces the usefulness of the registry. (The NFA has already suggested that people might as well register toasters if we are not confirming the data sent by owners). Verifying will avoid phony registrations.

- Without the means of confirming information, we loose support from police forces (including the RCMP), provinces and coalition members.

ANSWER 2. REDUCE ERROR RATES

ANSWER 3. PROVIDE BETTER SERVICE

ANSWER 4. FIGHT CRIME

-----------------------------------

E-MAIL

From: Murray A. Smith, Firearms Section, RCMP Forensics Laboratory Services

To: Peter McArthur, Justice Department

Date: 23 Nov 1995 10:10

Subject: Firearms Uniqueness Study (FUS) Forwarded-Reply

"If firearms are not uniquely distinguishable either by a single characteristic or combination of characteristics then firearms registration records almost certainly will be duplicated in the registration data base. This would prevent the registry from making a definitive statement of whether a particular firearm is either registered or not. There would be no way to link a specific registration certificate or data base entry to a particular firearm. This would hinder field checks, investigations and prosecutions. Under the present system, firearms are distinguished by three main characteristics: make/manufacturer, model and serial number. Other characteristics such as barrel length and calibre are also employed but are less useful. While each of the three main characteristics are often duplicated their combination is usually unique. Most of the difficulties with identification of firearms can be traced to absence of one or more of these characteristics. The single most important unique identifier of a firearm is its serial number."