How embarrassing for the Police and also for Jacinda Ardern when, after defending the proposed gun register in Parliament on Tuesday, Police have admitted that they left firearms licence holder information in their former Auckland Headquarters and that this has subsequently been stolen.
Firearms licensing information was among stolen property that was recovered after a burglary at the former Auckland Central Station last month.
Gun license holders have now been urged by police to be “vigilant around the security measures” they have in place for their firearms.
Police had previously become aware of the apparent breach of the old Auckland Central Police Station when police property was discovered at a search warrant at a Mt Albert address in May.
On Wednesday, Superintendent Karyn Malthus, Auckland City District Commander, said among the stolen property recovered were a number of documents including firearms licensing information which contained people’s personal details.
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This is precisely the sort of carry on that licensed firearms owners have been warning Police about as Police have pushed harder and harder for a gun registry.
This is not just an outrageous breach of people’s privacy, but an alarming compromise of sensitive information regarding firearms licensees.
Anyone who has had dealings with that Arms Office is now potentially at risk from violent offenders seeking firearms now that criminals know where they are located.
She said police were continuing to work to understand the full breadth of documentation that was stolen.
Malthus said the matter was being taken extremely seriously and the protection of all people’s information was of the upmost importance.
“Police are continuing to work with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to ensure we are taking the appropriate steps moving forward,” she said.
Police were contacting those whose documents have been obtained as a result of the burglary to advise them of the situation.
Police believe there was nothing to indicate any involvement of gangs at this stage.
“Keeping firearms holders safe is a key focus for Police and we continue to monitor any burglaries of firearms that occur,” Malthus said.
She encouraged any firearms licence holders that were concerned to get in contact with them.
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It may well be a key focus for Police, to keep firearms holders safe, but they have demonstrably, and potentially catastrophically, failed in that regard.
Why on earth would any firearms owner want to get in contact with Police after they’ve demonstrated a rather lackadaisical approach to keeping information safe and secure?
What is also obvious is that Police have no idea about precisely what information has been taken.
The Police cannot be trusted with this information, and the new Firearms Authority should be immediately removed from the auspices of the Police and placed under the control of an independent authority, such as was promised. Failing that, Internal Affairs, which handles passports would be a good fit.
The Police have failed and failed and failed again when it comes to protecting sensitive information. The proposed gun register is a privacy and security disaster just waiting to happen. It must be stopped immediately.
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