Long-gun registry a ‘good resource,’ says Bracebridge OPP inspector

MEDVED.

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MUSKOKA — Local police say they will be disarmed of a useful tool when the long-registry is abolished, as promised by the federal Conservative government.
Bracebridge OPP Insp. Ed Medved explained the OPP made a point of including support for keeping the long-gun registry in place during its most recent strategy meetings held in August of 2010. He said while police did not see it as their main resource for information, the registry is often one of the first databases police would query when responding to a call.
“The OPP don’t play a direct role in legislation, but anything to do with increasing the public safety we would endorse,” Medved said. “We would support having as many databases, as much information as possible; it (the long-gun registry) was a tool and it was frequently used.”
“It was good information, valuable, but it wasn’t the only source. We still rely on investigation and gathering information,” he added. “(Losing the registry) isn’t going to shut us down by any means; it was only a piece of the bigger pie, but it was a good resource.”
Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews announced the Ending the Long-Gun Registry Act on Oct. 25 in Richmond, B.C.
With a majority Conservative government in Ottawa and a Conservative hold on the majority of seats in the Senate, the act will likely come into effect before the new year. Medved said the OPP and his officers will continue to use the database until the day it is shut down.
Toews said during his announcement last week that once the act is accepted, the registry information will be destroyed.
“We query that database quite often,” Medved said of his detachment. “It was a tool and obviously we’ll keep using it until it’s no longer available to us.”
Medved explained in Ontario alone, approximately 500,000 people hold gun licences, of which about 85 per cent own only non-restricted firearms, such as rifles and other long guns. As of Oct. 3 of this year, those 500,000 people own almost 2.2 million long guns between them, meaning a significant number of guns in Ontario are registered and many owners have multiple non-restricted firearms.
According to Medved, police officers in Ontario access the long-gun registry an average of just under 10,000 times per day in 2011. Across the country, the registry is accessed an average of just more than 16,800 times per day.
Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement said one issue the federal government has had with the registry since its full implementation in 2003 was that it has cost more than $1 billion to implement and maintain.
“It was very expensive and very ineffective,” Clement said. “It did little to protect police or the public; the information is often incomplete, full of gaps and inaccurate.”
He added that proper public safety measures will still be in place, without placing an extra onus on law-abiding long-gun owners. Under the proposed reforms, firearms owners will still require a valid firearm licence to purchase or possess firearms and to purchase ammunition. They will also be required to undergo police background checks, pass a firearms safety training course and comply with firearms safe storage and transportation requirements. In addition, individuals will still be required to register prohibited and restricted firearms, such as handguns.
Clement said the money saved by not running the long-gun registry will be used to fight crime.
“Our government is investing in a number of effective measures such as putting more police on our streets, fighting organized crime, introducing mandatory minimum penalties for serious gun crime and combating gun smuggling,” Clement said.
While Medved could not speak to the system’s accuracy or gaps, he did reiterate police frequently use the registry as one source of information.
“We don’t solely rely on it; but recognizing its information, we use it often,” he said, pointing out the daily average usage of the registry in both Ontario and the country. “If it was of no value, very few people would be accessing it every day; if it was only of a little use, only a few people would access it, but it is being used frequently.”

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