Gun crime on the rise in Auckland, majority of offences involve illegally owned firearms

Gun crime is up in Auckland, and police data shows illegally owned guns are the problem.

Data provided to RNZ through the Official Information Act shows there were 879 firearms offences committed across Auckland in the first six months of this year, up 28 from the same time in 2023.

Only 18 of those offences were carried out by people with an active firearms licence.

The South Auckland suburb of Manurewa had the most reported firearms offences in the first six months of 2024, with 102 reported, up by 11 offences from 2023.

Henderson reported the next highest number at 75 offences, followed by Auckland Central at 72.

Both suburbs saw more firearms offences reported than at the same time in 2023.

A member of the Indian Business Association, who did not want to be named, told RNZ about an incident at his Auckland petrol station, in which he tried to stop a customer driving away without paying.

He had opened the passenger side door and was confronted with a gun, he said.

"He just pointed the gun toward me, and that was a shotgun," he said.

"He said 'f*** off', so I immediately hands up, and just left the car, let him go."

The man was arrested, however, a year on. The petrol station owner told RNZ he had concerns the man could come back to the petrol station.

The owner said illegally held guns were the issue.

"The police know who has the licensed firearm, that is not a dangerous situation. Only danger is people are having the illegal firearms, which are not registered over there."

He wanted tougher policing of those who were found with firearms they should not have.

"This is a very, very dangerous situation and very threatening, you know," he said.

"There should be a, at least, five-year jail time if a person is carrying an illegal firearm in public."

The problem is not restricted to Auckland.

Hamilton dairy owner Manish Thakkar knows all too well the impact of gun crime. He was held at gunpoint during a robbery in 2023.

"They wanted to take money and cigarettes, everything from the counter," he said.

"One guy, he just [pointed a gun] at me, his first finger was on the trigger and it was moving so quickly that he could press the trigger anytime."

He described the moment he saw the offender's gun.

"It was terrible," Thakkar said.

"I'd never seen such incidents in my life."

Waikato bottle store owner Ash Parmar said the threat of gun crime loomed over business owners.

"We have deep sympathies for the wider public which is facing threats from these criminals who are using the guns," he said.

"And, obviously, all the shootouts that are happening at houses, and drive-by shootings and stuff, which makes us all very nervous that that threat of a gun being used in a retail setting is not very far away, so we remain very nervous and on edge."

The executive director of the Firearms Safety Authority, Angela Brazier, said keeping track of guns in the community could be a challenge.

"The firearms investigation team, half of their investigations are where a licence holder has diverted a firearm to an unlicensed person, so a criminal or a gang member.

"Those are the firearms that are turning up in crime scenes."

She said a firearms registry, introduced in 2023, would help keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them.

"It brings benefit to communities in terms of disrupting the pathways that criminals acquire firearms, it also gives frontline police access to real-time information to help them make risk assessments about the presence of firearms in a property or a vehicle, and it will help licence holders to have more confidence when they are buying or selling firearms."

More than 90 firearms offences were reported where the offender was a patched or prospect gang member.

As of last month, 145 firearms offences committed in the first six months of this year were under investigation.

Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee said part of her job was to develop legislation to improve public safety.

"It is well known that gang members and criminals generally do not adhere to legislation," she told RNZ.

"We tackle the illegal possession and use of firearms by utilising consequences to non-compliance within the Arms Act but also by using other legislation like the Crimes Act as an example."

She said she, along with Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, were working to try to address some of those issues and get relief for the victims of crime.

For the petrol station owner, the threat of gun crime looms large.

"Sometimes we just think, 'that man can pull a trigger, this is a matter of seconds'," he said.

"If he pulled the trigger, I was so close, hard to survive."