简体中文
Skyrocketing gun crime in the Australian state of Victoria has forced police to call on the local government to impose tougher penalties on offenders.
Victoria Police has urged its own government, led by Premier Daniel Andrews, to take a tougher stance on perpetrators of gun violence, especially those involved in drive-by shootings.
The force is reportedly asking for legislation similar to rival state, New South Wales (NSW), relating to gangland shootings made from a moving car -- also known as "drive-bys."
In NSW, a person who "in the course of an organized criminal activity" fires a gun at a house faces a maximum 16-year jail term if caught.
Under current Victorian law, state law enforcement officials have no special powers to prosecute drive-by offenders.
In these Victorian cases, offenders are instead trialled for recklessly endangering life, which carries a maximum 10 years in prison.
"Victoria Police has discussed the issues with the state government and has commenced work with the department of justice and regulation with a number of recommendations for firearm reform legislation," a Victoria Police spokeswoman told News Corp on Wednesday.
A number of other recommendations looking to stem the flow of gun-related violence have been tendered to the Andrews government in a review by Victoria Police that is yet to be finalized.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Victoria was in the midst of a gun-crime wave; in one particular week, there were two such incidents per day.
Victoria's acting Police Minister Robin Scott said the government's first priority was to ensure guns didn't make their way into the hands of mobsters, after a report from last week found that Melbourne's black market was selling handguns for as little as 750 U.S. dollars each.
"We've also asked Victoria Police to review our gun laws to identify any potential improvements and will work through those recommendations when the review is complete," he said.
