NSW: Watkins floats plan for brightly coloured guns

AAP General News (Australia)
12-13-2003
NSW: Watkins floats plan for brightly coloured guns

SYDNEY, Dec 13 AAP - Security guards in NSW could be forced to carry bright orange
handguns in an attempt to stop weapons reaching the black market.

Police Minister John Watkins said he would ask the security industry council to consider
a plan involving brightly coloured guns and money tainted with dye, following recent gun
thefts from cash-in-transit guards.

"We will explore anything that will help restrict the leakage of guns ... in the security
industry onto the black market," Mr Watkins said today.

He said money was the prime motivator in cash-in-transit robberies, but guns were an
added bonus for the criminals.

In the US, security guards carry orange guns, making them easily identifiable if stolen
and less attractive on the black market.

Staining money, widely used in the UK, was invented as a non-violent way of making
a bank robbery pointless by permanently staining the stolen money a bright red colour.

Opposition police spokesman Peter Debnam labelled the plan a media stunt.

"What this shows is just how desperate the Carr government is to come up with a new
line for the media every single day," he said.

"If you're being shot or robbed it doesn't make any difference at all whether the gun
is pink, purple or orange."

Mr Debnam said stained money had worked successfully around the world, but a coloured
gun would not deter criminals.

"If the criminal is offended by the colour of the gun, whether it's pink or purple,
they will go and get a $2 spray can and repaint it."

Mr Watkins said new training guidelines for guards, including how best to ensure the
safe delivery of money and confront attackers, would be implemented in the first half
of the new year.

Mr Watkins, Cabramatta MP Reba Meagher and local superintendent today unveiled the
new $13.85 million Cabramatta Police Station, which will be the operational base for western
Sydney task forces.

AAP kjd/wjf/jlw

KEYWORD: GUNS

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