Tighter police gun controls after alleged double murder

Farid FaridAAP
Camera IconA review launched after an alleged double murder has led to tighter controls on police firearms. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP

Tighter controls on police firearms will be rolled out following a major review launched after the alleged murder of two men by a serving NSW officer with his service weapon.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb launched the internal review of general-issue firearms in February, days after then-senior constable Beaumont Lamarre-Condon was accused of fatally shooting Luke Davies and Jessie Baird.

One of the main recommendations from the review, details of which were released on Friday, is digitising the force's movement register for weapons.

This would allow officers to "better track and report on the location of firearms in real time, monitor storage location approvals and monitor inspection compliance", a summary of the review said.

Ms Webb previously described as antiquated the paper-based system used for tracking equipment like police weapons.

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"It's important that we tighten things, which we've done ... so that an officer can only take (firearms) to the nearest police station to where the next shift or duty is to commence." she told reporters on Friday.

"We would like to get that (digital register) in the future not just for firearms, but for ... tasers, for other equipment that officers wear (so) that it accounts for these pieces of equipment as they move in and out of police stations."

Senior police were left red-faced after it was revealed in August that a number of official-issue ballistic vests, considered a prohibited weapon in the state, had gone missing.

Other recommendations from the review that have already come into effect include the creation of a manual to provide clear procedures for the approval and movement of a firearm away from its usual command.

Police have deemed the full details of the review as unsuitable for public disclosure as it could jeopardise officers' safety.

Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell, who led the review, said there would be no specific changes introduced to restrict access to firearms by general duty officers.

He defended police officers as "professional and responsible".

"If they're allowed to carry a firearm with them all day then we've got to put faith in them for their movement as well, but there are procedures now for them to be guided," Mr Thurtell added.

Lamarre-Condon's case is due to return to court in November, when his lawyers have indicated he could enter a plea to two charges of domestic violence-related murder.

The 29-year-old is accused of shooting dead Mr Baird, who he briefly dated, and the TV presenter's partner Luke Davies with his police-issue firearm while off duty.

He was sacked from the force in mid-March.

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