Numbers of stolen, smuggled firearms rising in city, say police

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The variety of smuggled and stolen firearms is on the rise in Calgary with these taken in burglaries the biggest supply of firearms crime, say metropolis police.

Final yr noticed a 28 per cent rise since 2021 within the variety of burglaries resulting in stolen firearms within the metropolis whereas detected smuggled weapons rose by a whopping 213 per cent, the Calgary Police Fee heard Wednesday.

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“It has to strengthen the significance of secure storage of firearms in a residence,” stated Deputy Chief Paul Cook dinner.

“A big proportion of our crime weapons are sourced from break and enters – most of our crime weapons in Calgary are roughly  locally-sourced.”

Firearms smuggled from the U.S. into Canada that enter prison use is extra prevalent within the nation’s east and Ontario, stated Cook dinner.

But it surely’s a rising phenomenon right here, he stated.

“We’re seeing a rise in smuggled weapons, we’re seeing a rise in Alberta,” stated Cook dinner.

A CPS crime information report on smuggled weapons states: “Whereas we’re nonetheless awaiting tracing outcomes from our 2023 seizures, we anticipate this development to proceed. ”

In December, police Chief Mark Neufeld stated about half the firearms used criminally in Alberta are smuggled throughout the border, with the remainder being stolen domestically or acquired via straw gross sales — purchases made via a extra certified proxy.

On Wednesday, Neufeld stated it’s potential a number of the weapons reported as stolen may need really been offered as straw gross sales.

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Cook dinner stated firearms storage legal guidelines and academic applications are “sturdy” and that prices are being laid in opposition to gun homeowners who fail to safe their firearms.

The numbers come as gun-related homicides within the metropolis hit a document final yr, at greater than half of 21 whole slayings.

Even so, he famous the 100 whole shootings in Calgary final yr was down 21 per cent from 2022, although nonetheless six per cent above the five-year common.

That’s opposite to a 30 per cent enhance in shootings province-wide, stated CPS, who added 30 per cent of the town’s taking pictures final yr had been gang-related.

As of Jan. 15, there have been 4 shootings in Calgary in comparison with a five-year common of 9.6 in the identical timeframe.

“Over the previous a number of years, we’ve devoted a big quantity of assets into addressing gun violence in Calgary and this lower has proven our collective efforts,” stated Cook dinner.

“The prevalence of firearms inside our neighborhood stays a urgent difficulty.”

Neufeld has stated new federal laws freezing the sale and switch of handguns in Invoice C-21 might finally have an effect on gun crime however has pointed to cross-border gun smuggling as a rising issue.

“We share a border with a nation that has essentially the most weapons per capita of most likely any on the planet,” he stated.

“Invoice C-21 did converse to some measures to beef up the border and border safety across the smuggling of weapons so there could also be issues of curiosity there.”

Final yr, CPS seized 429 firearms, down from 517 in 2022 and 444 in 2021.

In 2023, one murder offender was launched on bail following arrest, down considerably from the 27 the earlier yr, stated CPS.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

X (Twitter): @BillKaufmannjrn

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