-
Jan Molenaar - Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
-
Related
Coroner David Crerar has called for a major review of the Arms
Act, saying the current legislation is only complied with by honest
people.
In his inquest into the deaths of senior policeman Len Snee and
gunman Len Molenaar, Crerar said a number of the 17 firearms, many
of them military style semi-automatics, that Molenaar had at his
Napier home were acquired from illegal sources.
"Each of the suppliers to Jan Molenaar of these weapons shares a
responsibility for the death of Constable Snee," Crerar said.
"If those supplying firearms ascertained, as they were required to
do, under the Arms Act, that Jan Molenaar held an appropriate
firearms licence, this would have been conveyed to Police
Intelligence and Constable Snee and his companions would have been
warned of the danger Jan Molenaar presented."
Crerar said there were deficiencies in the Arms Act and its
enforcement.
"The policy of tracking MSSAs (military style semi-automatic
firearms) and confirming the type of firearm that is an MSSA must
be looked at again."
The 1997 report by Justice Thomas Thorp which called for
restrictions of legal gun ownership and requiring that all guns be
registered may have to be revisited, Crerar said.
A bill was presented to Parliament incorporating Justice Thorp's
recommendations but was withdrawn due to the weight of opposition
at select committee hearings.
"At present the Arms Act is only complied with by honest people,"
Crerar said.
The review was one of four recommendations he made.
He called for the rollout of police digital radios to be expedited.
He had heard that the police officers involved in the search at
Molenaar's house did not advise their location as required and that
there was a generally a reservation in communicating on what were
effectively open radio channels in case police safety was
compromised.
"Now that appropriate technology exists our police ought never to be put in the situation of hesitating to use an unsecure channel," Crerar said.
He also recommended: prompt attention be given to review and
simplify Police General Instructions; and upgrading the
procedures to execute all search warrants so that all supervisors
are aware of warrants, adequate numbers of officers attend the
searches, improved equipment is available and appropriate training
in risk assessment is given.
Police said today they were acting on all the
recommendations.
They would shortly be recommending policy changes on the Arms Act
and the rollout of digital radios had begun.
