FIREARMS FACTS - UPDATE

REAL POLICE PRIORITIES

Updated – November 8, 2002

RCMP RESPONSE TO ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

RCMP FILE: 02ATIP-26394, dated July 31, 2002.

On April 16, 2002, RCMP Cst. Steve Poirier, Course Coordinator of the RCMP Pacific Region Training Centre told his superiors that they do not have the manpower to enforce the Firearms Act.  He said: “There are approx 49,000 registered firearms in B.C. belonging to people who have not applied for the new firearms licence.  I inform police of this statistic however also advise no police force has the manpower to deal with it.” 

 

THE REASON?  POLICE ARE BUSY CHASING REAL CRIMINALS AND DEALING WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN PROVEN IN A COURT OF LAW TO BE A REAL THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

 

OUTSTANDING ARREST WARRANTS UNDER THE CRIMINAL CODE = 197,282

 

There are presently 197,282 arrest warrants on the CPIC [Canadian Police Information Centre] system based on Criminal Code offences or offences against federal statutes.  Our policy requires that all Canada Wide (CW) entries are based on Criminal Code or Federal Statute offences and we are not able to separate either. 

 

PERSONS PROHIBITED FROM OWNING FIREARMS = 130,972

 

There are presently 130,972 persons prohibited from owning a firearm entered by the various police agencies on the CPIC system.

 

ACTIVE RESTRAINING ORDERS = 36,474

 

There are 36,474 entries under the recognizance sub-category which includes peace bonds, recognizance and restraining orders.  Our system does not separate or breakdown these three possible type of orders.  There is a possibility that other entries are made in the Prohibition category but we have no way of identifying that number.

 

NOTE: The totals provided are as of June 29, 2002

PAROLEES WHO FAIL TO REPORT ON ANY GIVEN DAY = 850

Correctional Service of Canada reports show that across Canada, on any given day, about 850 parolees no longer report. The names of parole violators are entered in the Canadian Police Information Centre computer database. Except in Ontario, finding them remains a low priority for most police forces unless they commit a crime, police and critics say.  Members of the ROPE squad have called for a similar national operation, but the federal Solicitor-General's Office has said regular police forces can do the job.

Last year, according to statistics compiled by the correctional service, convicts on parole or early release racked up six murders, 10 attempted murders, 60 major assaults, 33 rapes and 102 armed robberies.

Scott Newark, special counsel to Ontario's office for victims of crime, said in an interview that the correctional service and the parole board deemed these convicts "a manageable risk" before releasing them.  Holding a sheaf of documents from the correctional service, Mr. Newark added: "Using their numbers, a person on federal parole was responsible for either the murder, rape, robbery, unlawful confinement of an innocent Canadian about every day and a half. In my opinion, the CSC is out of control and that's a very dangerous situation."

SOURCE: Globe and Mail, “Police not bothering with parole violators, investigation reveals” – Page A1, Friday, November 8, 2002.

 

CRIMINALS AND SUSPECTS ALLOWED INTO CANADA = 3,679

Tables 7 and 8 of the Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration – 2002 states that for the year 2001 Permits were issued to the following:

Click Here to see Tables 7 and 8:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/immigration2002.html#temporary