Strange how criminals seem to like having rifles. Haven't we been told again and again (by those opposed to the long gun registry) that long guns were not a problem?

I am sure that any of the legal firearms the scumbags had were stolen anyway, registered or not. As for the 'fluid' nature of local gang membership; these turds are anti-societal psychopaths, how can one expect them to be loyal even to their own kind? One consolation; they are more likely to be rubbed out if they don't have a solid gang of their own kind backing them.
metalman.

We hear lots about the costs of a new police office building but where did the funds come from for the gang task force building?

What are prohibited magazines?

Prohibited magazines would be to be too large. Handguns are only allowed to have 10 shot magazines and center fire rifles are 5.

@herbster So the criminals had long guns, but how did it help at all? As previously reported... "A 28 year old male Prince George resident, previously unknown to police, was arrested and released on several Criminal Code weapons charges as well as Controlled Drugs and Substances Act charges."

Looks to me like it didn't help at all in this situation. Maybe the money spent on it could add a few more members to a crime unit like this that might actually take illegal weapons off the street.

@Herbster. So they have long guns. They also probably had a toaster and refrigerator. The real question is, to what extent are long runs used to commit crimes, and the answer is, not much. Long guns just aren't all that useful for most criminal purposes as they are too conspicuous.

Guns are tools. It is how an individual uses the tool(s) that determines its legality. Who knows whether they were acquired legally or not. The point is the task force is not only removing the illegal guns but also nabbing the human element that intends to use those tools for criminal purposes.

my2bits: A prohibited magazine is as bluecriminal stated. The number of bullets you are allowed to load into a firearm is regulated. If the magazine allows more than the legal limit it is prohibited.

Okay, sorry I'm so stupid today, I should have figured that out. I was thinking as magazines that you read. DUH!!!

... And the long gun registry seems to really have solved this problem of criminals being in
possession of long guns, hasn't it Herbster?

Where did all these guns come from? Were they bought, given as gifts or stolen? Where and when were they acquired? All questions that a gun registry could help answer.

And what would that matter herbster? A criminal isn't going to be forth coming and use the registry so it is irrelevant where they came from.
I am sure those questions are posed during interrogation.

At some point the guns were purchased legally. By following a paper trail one can track where the guns were acquired by the criminals, and stop those supply points. The whole point of the exercise is to keep gun owners accountable for their guns. If they can't handle that responsibility, they shouldn't own guns.

the illegal weapons were almost certainly NOT registered, as they were illegally modified. There isnt a single person out there who WANTS their guns to be stolen. Also, the regulations for safe storage are seperate from gun registration. How, exactly will knowing where these guns came from help, given that IF they were stolen, they would have been reported stolen, along with their serial nombers, etc.?
The gun registry was a rediculously expensive 'exercise'. It was also an 'exercise' in intrusive government. It was also a vehicle for police to intrude on gun owners privacy, especially since the information in the registry has been proven NOT to be secure.
There isnt any portion of the registry that ensures or even promotes responsibility amoung legal gun owners. It also has no effect on those who otherwise flaut the law. What it DID do was provide police (and potentially others) with the names and addresses of gun owners (so that they could react 'appropriately'.

the illegal weapons were almost certainly NOT registered, as they were illegally modified. There isnt a single person out there who WANTS their guns to be stolen. Also, the regulations for safe storage are seperate from gun registration. How, exactly will knowing where these guns came from help, given that IF they were stolen, they would have been reported stolen, along with their serial nombers, etc.?
The gun registry was a rediculously expensive 'exercise'. It was also an 'exercise' in intrusive government. It was also a vehicle for police to intrude on gun owners privacy, especially since the information in the registry has been proven NOT to be secure.
There isnt any portion of the registry that ensures or even promotes responsibility amoung legal gun owners. It also has no effect on those who otherwise flaut the law. What it DID do was provide police (and potentially others) with the names and addresses of gun owners (so that they could react 'appropriately'.

At one point, all those guns were legal. If they were stolen, then registration could be used to track down who stole the guns, as well as further middlemen who may have sold the guns to criminal elements. If your guns were stolen wouldn't you want all possible information available to catch the thieves?
People register their laptops to try and frustrate thieves, why not guns? The government puts stamps on cigarettes (a form of registration) to frustrate and catch smugglers- why not guns?
The annual cost of the gun registry was 8 million dollars. The initial cost was of course horrendous. But that money was spent long ago. The system was established. And if that 8 million/year saved even one life, or helped put one lowlife scumball behind bars, then it was worth it in my opinion.

Cars are registered. Cars get stolen. Doesn't stop the carnage. Doesn't stop the criminal.

Knives are used as weapons. Knives aren't registered. Doesn't stop the carnage. Doesn't stop the criminal.

Hypodermic needles are used as weapons.Not registered either. Doesn't stop the terror. Doesn't stop the criminal.

So are: baseball bats,rocks,sticks...it doesn't matter WHERE they come from...what matters is how they were used and by whom.

(Oh gee, I am sorry Ford Co. a vehicle you manufactured was stolen today and we traced it back to you. You are now up on charges and are hereby prohibited from manufacturing these weapons of mass destruction...)

Me thinks that is silliness!

let the gangs shoot each other out, isn't that a simple solution?

If the police are making such advances in the world of gang activities, why is it that everytime they announce a new bust it is bigger than it was the last time? If things were getting better, shouldn't things be calming down instead of growing at an exponential rate? Want to really impress us? Put a program in place where kids who want to exit the lifestyle have a means of being protected so they can share what they know and get out. That way, since everyone knows who did the shootings at moxies, (The police admit that they have been told over and over who did the shooting but never by an actual witness who could lead to a prosicution), the individual could be charged but this is not the case. The definition of insanity is repeating the same behaviours and expecting different results. That is why the bust are getting bigger and a sign of policy failure instead of policy success. Sure busts are great but curing symptoms and not going after root causation will only lead to failure. Go to a community gang task meeting and watch the social service leaders use the time to promote their ideas instead of working co-operatively and you'll see why the consentrated and focused gangs are winning the battle for our kids hands down. After all how many of us think the movie scarface is a great film when in fact it has become the best recruting film ever produced.

Our society is sick and we are all sheep.

Herbster, did you notice that some of the firearms and paraphernalia confiscated are not legal in Canada? Your comments indicate that you assume the confiscated items were once owned by someone who carelessly allowed them to be stolen, and fall into criminal hands. I don't know how it could be more obvious that most of the confiscated and or modified firearms etc. would not have been registerable anyway, because they are illegal in Canada. The gun registry will never keep firearms out of the hands of criminals.
metalman.

He spoke,

If the gangs would go out in an empty field and have a shoot out, that would be fine. But they tend to shoot at each other at restaurants, on public streets and so on.

These thugs had some seriously nasty hardware. Good job to the cops for getting it off the streets.

Realist: If I was to venture a guess, I would think that the busts are getting bigger because they are becoming more successful. They have worked their way from the small timers and are now infiltrating the bigger fish.

Eventually they will cut off the snake's head.