A man has allegedly shot at two police officers after he was spotted driving a stolen Lexus “erratically” through the backstreets of Sydney’s inner west early on Wednesday morning. Continue reading Shot Fired As Police Pursued a Stolen Lexus Through Sydney
Police have raided a well known Sydney gun business which has built a reputation as a major supplier of “theatrical” weapons to popular TV shows and movies. Continue reading Police Raid ‘The Stockade’ Gun Shop In Sydney, Seizing 180 Pistols and Rifles
The NSW Police Force is looking at technology which would allow them to convert the Glock pistols currently used by officers into a ‘rifle’ to better equip them in the event of potential active shooter incidents or terror attacks.
Fitting conversions kits to existing Glocks is one option being looked at by the police force to better equip officers on the front line.
The standard Glock pistols used by New South Wales Police Force can be modified to a long arm weapon with an attachment fitted to the pistol grip and an extended barrel, possibly giving greater accuracy.
The NSW Police Association has been calling on the government and police hierarchy to have rifles in all highway patrol vehicles since the Lindt cafe siege last December.
True Blue Line Editor – in my view, Glock modification does not qualify as a rifle (compared to, for example, a Colt M4). It’s not clear how the modifications would be deployed – the entire assembly carried at all times or having the conversion kit in the car – we can see many problems with both scenarios.
A new “active shooter’’ training program designed specifically to teach officers how to best handle terror situations has also been rolled out.
Uniformed police and highway patrol officers are invariably the first to arrive at the scene of any major incident ahead of specialist units such as the counter-terrorism and the heavily armed Tactical Operations Unit.
Consideration is being given to future options involving long arms, but the current priority is to provide enhanced training to officers with the weapons they currently use,” a police spokesman said.
The use of a Glock conversion kit is seen as a quick and cost-effective way to beef up the existing police weapons.
“A typical conversion kit would be half the cost of a new firearm,’’ president of the National Firearms Association Mr Luca Scribani Rossi said.
“The longer barrel improves accuracy. With the weapon being turned into a carbine there is a sight for aiming.”
True Blue Line Editor – Cheap, temporary solution that may well become permanent, endangering the lives of officers and citizens.
Read full article: The Daily Telegraph.
An ice-addled man who allegedly shot at police in a wild car chase continued his assault on them after his arrest, it has been alleged. Continue reading Methamphetamine-Fueled Police Chase Shooter In Court
A man has been caught with a sub-machinegun in his bag at a major shopping centre in Sydney’s inner west, police say. Continue reading Man Caught Carrying Thompson Sub-machinegun In Sydney
Britain’s elite police firearms officers are to be trained in a new state-of-the-art weapons and tactics academy based in a disused underground reservoir in Bedford.
Continue reading Elite Police Training Centre To Be Built In Old Underground Bedford Reservoir
State Crime Command’s Organised Crime Squad together with the NSW Crime Commission has been investigating an alleged ‘ice’ (methylamphetamine) manufacturing operation at Greendale.
About 9.40am on Friday 21 August 2015, police arrested a 39-year-old South-Wentworthville man at Burwood and seized $30,000 from his vehicle.
A second man, aged 43 and from Greendale, was arrested at his home, with a search warrant conducted at the property a short time later.
A large-scale clandestine drug laboratory was located in a shed at the rear of the property and processed by officers from the Drug Squad’s specialist Chemical Operations Team.
The laboratory was inactive at the time of the search, but numerous chemicals and equipment used in the manufacture of prohibited drugs were located. Police also seized 15kg of ‘ice’ and more than half a kilogram of pseudoephedrine.
A Ruger-brand .22 rifle and silencer, as well as approximately 1000 rounds of ammunition, were located and seized.
Read the full announcement.
West Australian Police Minister Liza Harvey says it is not realistic for police to be armed in court in the immediate future but that she is sympathetic to their plight.
The police union is fighting for officers to be able to wear their weapons in court and has upped the campaign since changes were made to NSW legislation earlier this month to allow it.
But Ms Harvey said it took time to make changes to long-standing conventions.
Premier Colin Barnett told Parliament this week he could see circumstances where a heightened level of security would be required.
“Terrorist acts, bikie gangs … those would be examples,” he said.
But he said he would prefer police not to carry weapons in court.
I’m sure you would want police to be #ArmedInCourts @ColinBarnett if something happened around you! #wapol #qt #perthnews
— WA Police Union (@WAPoliceUnion) August 13, 2015
Read more at ABC News.
WA Police want to follow the precedent set by NSW and be allowed to wear guns and other weapons in court.
The police union says the push to lift the ban on carrying firearms, tasers, pepper spray, batons and handcuffs in court has been long-running, but intensified since the terrorism alert was increased to high. It also issued a list of examples of violent incidents suffered by its members in and outside courts (see below).
“The fact our members cannot wear their accoutrements in court complexes causes a great deal of angst, raises concerns about the lack of secure storage for lethal weapons, and makes police soft targets,” union president George Tilbury said in a statement on Friday.
The police union has supplied PerthNow with a list of examples of threatening behaviour at Perth courts:
Read more in The Advertiser.
Police officers will be able to carry their guns into NSW courtrooms from next week, amid heightened terrorism fears.
Police Minister Troy Grant announced a new protocol on Tuesday that allows officers to wear their weapons while giving evidence or briefing prosecutors inside court complexes without having to seek special permission from the judiciary.
“This is a common sense approach at a time our nation faces a high terror alert and when we’ve seen police overseas become terror targets themselves,” Mr Grant said.
Read more in The Mercury.
