Sam Hoyle: Auckland Police Assistant Commissioner on the increase in gun crime offences in the first six months of the year

An Auckland police boss says gangs play a big part in gun crime – but it's not just gangs.

RNZ reports there were 879 gun crime offences across Auckland in the first six months of the year - 28 more than the same time last year.

Just 18 of those were committed by people with a firearms licence.

Police Assistant Commissioner for Auckland Sam Hoyle told Mike Hosking that covers everything around gun offending.

He says from teenagers playing with imitation weapons to high end, they're seeing it across the spectrum.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
For all the positive news we've had about crime and
statistics lately, a little bit of a setback for Auckland anyway,
eight hundred and seventy nine gun related efenses this year.
Only two percent of those involved legal weapons. The risk
were illegal and not just illegal weapons. But gun crime
generally is up. The Assistant Commission of four Auckland sam
oils with us on this same morning, Mike, are things

(00:20):
going wrong?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
No, Look, any gun violence in our communities are acceptable,
and look at these. These crime stats represent everything around
gun offending, from bigutary offenses that went into really serious
stuff at the other any increases of bad things. Some
of it is a product of our effort. We've all
seen the pictures at the end of a termination of

(00:44):
a job on gangs or organized crime members and the
steps of guns, money, and mess. The more that we do,
the more guns we're going to find. So it's a
mixture of what's going on in the environments. The mixture
very in this space as well against organized crime.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Okay, is it all or virtually all gangs?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
A lot of it is, but it's not all gangs,
as it covers the whole game, but from teenagers playing
with imitation weapons or esoft weapons through to the really
high end stuff. So we're seeing it right across the spectrum.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Okay, does this have anything or will it have anything
to do with the gun reform and the debate we're
having in this country at the moment. Do you have
fears around any of that that it's going to get
worse or better or it's not going to make any difference.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Look, we've been clear with this government in previous governments
that we think the France industry is important. That's been
implemented now that helps us track the life of these guns,
so when we find them at gangpads, we you know,
we will know in the future who lasts and awfully
hell of that weapon, where it should be, which the

(01:50):
are important at the life of that weapon in New Zealand.
That helps us with series and patterns and understands how
they're sourcing these weapons.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
All right, Sam, appreciate your INSIGHTE Sam Hoyle, who's the
Police Assistant Commissioner for Auckland. For more from the Mic
Asking Breakfast, listen live to News Talks it' B from
six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.