Masses of Surrendered firearms are in the process of being destroyed. Photos: Office of the Minister of the Police
Last month, the WA government wrapped up its voluntary gun buy-back scheme.
State-wide, almost 40,000 guns were surrendered and the total number of gun licence holders in WA was reduced by 6,000.
Police said that the scheme was very popular in Esperance.
“We took lots of guns that people didn’t need or were in excess to their requirements,” Snr Sgt Chris Taylor said.
“In Esperance people didn’t particularly need them but had kept them just in case.”
Snr Sgt Taylor said the scheme represented an opportunity to take the unnecessary weapons out of the community.
As a result, he said the buy-back scheme “appeared to achieve the purpose of the government”.
Police Minister Paul Papalia attested to the success of the scheme saying WA’s firearm act would help improve the safety of WA for years to come.
“The response to the State Government-funded voluntary gun buyback has been overwhelmingly positive with more than 10 per cent of the total number of licensed guns in Western Australia surrendered for destruction,” he said.
The 38,000 guns surrendered as part of the scheme fell significantly short of what the WA government was expecting to purchase with the $64.3 million dollar budget they put aside.
Despite this, Premier Roger Cook said they were confident the scheme made a difference to remove unnecessary guns from the community and encouraged WA gun owners to embrace the gun reform.
“Fewer guns, coupled with more robust regulation and monitoring of firearm use, means a safer WA for all,” he said.
