THE Bathurst region is home to more than 13,000 registered firearms, ranking us in the state’s top 10 for gun ownership.
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The statistics, released by The Greens, also reveal the largest number of guns held by one registered owner in Bathurst, excluding collectors, is 103.
The average number of registered firearms per registered owner is 4.84.
By comparison there are 10,504 registered firearms in Orange, registered to 2514 gun owners.
Dubbo has 12,038 registered firearms, with the largest number of guns registered to one person being 202 firearms.
While statistically Bathurst has the largest number of firearms, gun-related crime - where a firearm is used in the commission of an offence – remains very low.
Instead, police say the biggest issue for the city - and other regional areas - is the targeted theft of firearms by members of organised crime.
Chifley local area command Acting Superintendent Luke Rankin said criminals used firearms as a highly valued commodity which could be traded for drugs or used in other illegal activity.
He said this month alone, police had allegedly found two firearms which had been cut down for concealment in two vehicle stops in Bathurst.
“The reality is these stolen firearms are being used, altered and cut down by criminal gangs.”
The Greens’ gun ownership data has hit the headlines as a 48-year-old Rylstone man appeared before Bathurst Local Court on Monday to answer 15 firearms-related charges, including possession of unregistered firearms and failure to store them safely.
The man, who had never been before the court before, lived on an isolated property. When police attended on an unrelated matter they saw an unloaded rifle leaning against the wall.
A search of the house revealed a number of unsecured firearms.
Convicting the man, Mr Allen said the days of leaving a firearm sitting unsecured around the home were over.
“These are exactly the types of properties being targeted by organised criminal gangs in Sydney,” he said.
“The reality is these stolen firearms are being used, altered and cut down by criminal gangs.”
Mr Allen said it was becoming a frequent event to turn the radio on and hear there had been a shooting in south-west Sydney.
“And all available evidence suggests the firearms are from targeted thefts.”
Mr Allen said the right to have a gun came with an onerous responsibility to keep firearms in accordance with regulations set down by the government to avoid bloodshed – either by accident or criminal act.