Maren 7, 1990. This Week __TOP STORY ARMED Continued from Page 3 the house. They'll put a spotlight on it. They'll turn on their roof lights. They're trying to make it clear to everyone in the district that they are the police and they are on the scene — to prevent these accidental shootings.” The preponderance of so many guns in the U.S. causes a great deal of problems for police officers. While guns can be readily obtained in Greater Victoria, they’re not used to any great extent. For example, in 1989 only 28 per cent of the Wweapens charges in Victoria involved guns. “Our experience is that they can be purchased in bars in the downtown area and yet they’re not used to a great extent. Occasionally they’re used for armed robberies but only in five case was a firearm actually dis- played during Victoria robberies out of 178 incidents.” Why are robbers wary about using weapons in the commission of crimes in Canada? There’s a big stick that is used against those who do. “In Canada, it automatically be- comes an indictable offence punisha- ble by five years if any indictable offence is committed while in posses- sion of a firearm. There’s definitely a risk. That’s why I believe that in the vast majority of cases the guns are purchased to protect drug stashes, to protect drug people from invasion by rival drug traffickers or to rip each other off,” said Richardson. In most cases when a gun is used in a direct threat against a police officer, it usually turns out that the perpe- trator is mentally disordered. Saturday night specials are a term used to describe commonly available handguns. The Saturday night spe- cial of choice is usually a .32 cal. pistol SAWED OFF RIFLES such as this sh choice for bank robbers or revolver. A .22 cal. pistol is also popular. They sell for between $100 to $500. The larger calibre weapons — -38 cal., .357 or .44 magnums are more difficult for the underground to come by. otgun and .22 cal. are “Generally speaking the higher in calibre, the higher expense.” In the threat majority of cases, these illegal weapons come from bur. glaries of sporting goods stores or private residences. Gun collectors keep a very low profile. Those who don’t can easily become the target for unsavory types the weapons of SSS looking for weapons to steal. “We had a case about four months ago where an apartment in James Bay was broken into in the middle of the night. The perpetrator was aware” that individual has a gun collection. —® During the course of the burglary, the owner of the gun woke up and chal- lenged the two individuals. A scuffle ensued and he had his jaw broken by the butt of the gun and he was stabbed with a bayonet. That just illustrates that there are people look- ing for weapons. That individual had | | | : a purchaser in mind or perhaps ha was going to use it himself.” In Canada, unlike the U.S., citizens do not have the right to bear arms. However, gun collecting is recognized as a legitimate hobby. The possession of firearms for sporting purposes — target shooting and hunting is also recognized as a legitimate reason to own weapons. We're a better society because of the fact that the average homeowner is not permitted to arm themselves, said Richardson. Accessibility of firearms is big problem in the U.S. where many accidental deaths are recorded each year. “T read of a recent study done in the state of Louisiana. It was an eight year study period and in that one state, 300 children under the age of 14 were accidentally killed by firearms. The total figure, including suicides and homicides involving teenagers was 900 in that study period. I don’t think that would have happened in the entire nation of Canada. That just illustrates the gun mentality. 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