The parliamentary joint select committee reviewing the new Firearms Bill on Tuesday gently shot down the idea of criminalising failure to report lost or stolen guns to the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) simultaneously with a report to the police.

Chief executive officer of the authority Shane Dalling had stressed that the agency is not able to keep proper records, if holders are not held accountable to report to both the regulator and law enforcement at the same time.

He pointed out that currently, many cases go unreported to the FLA, notwithstanding reports to the police.

“The problem is that not every case of a report to the police gets to the authority. We have thousands of cases of that, where persons lose their firearms, make a report to the police and that’s the end of it, they never turn up to the authority, and the authority has not seen those persons,” he explained at a meeting of the Dr Horace Chang-chaired committee.

“How does the authority properly report and account for all the guns that are issued if the obligation is not on the individual to make that report?” Dalling asked. “The police having the report is one thing [but] they do not have to transmit it, unless you put in the law that the police must transmit any such report to the FLA.”

However, Dr Chang, who is also the national security minister, said firearm holders who neglect to report to the FLA can be penalised at another juncture, when they try to renew or get a new licence.

“I wouldn’t criminalise him [for not] going to the authority. He has an administrative responsibility that must be carried out in due course, but he must report to the police immediately; you can’t compel him that he has to run [at] the same time to the FLA,” Chang said.

He said it is expected that when people do not show up to renew their firearm licences, the FLA would submit the non-renewal information to the police, to check the constabulary database for activities on the particular firearms.

“There has to be linkages, but there cannot be two reporting points for a failure of this sort,” he said.

At the same time, he argued that it is the responsibility of the police to ensure that the cases are investigated, and not the obligation of the regulator.

Opposition Senator Peter Bunting cautioned against making the reporting process overly bureaucratic.

“The obligation in law is to report the loss or theft to the police [and] having done so, they are going to have to come to the FLA when their renewal comes up; they will have to come with an explanation. I’m sure it would be held against any future licence they would seek. We are not saying that it shouldn’t be reported to the FLA [but] in the law we don’t have to criminalise what is an administrative procedure,” he said.

Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte agreed that the reporting requirements should not be burdensome, but said there was some merit to bringing the loss or theft of a weapon to the FLA’s attention.

“The question is on whom would the duty be placed, because the authority cannot be presumed to know if it is not brought to the authority’s attention; and if the holder is being relieved of the responsibility to report, then it would only be reasonable for the police to transmit that information to the authority upon receipt of the report,” she asserted.

Under the proposed Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act, 2022, a firearm holder should report the loss or theft of a weapon to the police or the FLA within 24 hours after making the discovery. Failure to do so without reasonable excuse is an offence which attracts a fine of up to $1 million, or imprisonment of up to a year, on conviction in a parish court.

The Firearms Bill, which will replace the 1976 Act, is intended to modernise offences, penalties and fines, to include mandatory minimum sentences, and generally provide a stronger deterrent to illegal importation and use of illegal and prohibited weapons. The Bill also seeks to address new threats posed by technological advancements, and enable the country to meet international treaty obligations.