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Family Violence Initiative

CRIMINAL HARASSMENT:

A HANDBOOK FOR POLICE AND CROWN PROSECUTORS

APPENDIX B

CPIC SEARCHES RELATING TO FIREARMS

This section includes suggestions for searching the Canadian Police Information Centre database (CPIC), the Canadian Firearms Registration Online (CFRO) and the Firearms Interest Police file (FIP) for information relating to firearms.

Canadian Firearms Registration Online

The Canadian Firearms Registration System (CFRS) is "a fully integrated, automated information system that provides administrative and enforcement support to all partners involved in licensing of firearm owners/users, registration of all firearms, and the issuance of authorizations related to restricted firearms."⁶⁴

Canadian police agencies that have access to CPIC can access relevant subsets of the information in the CFRS through the CFRO. It contains information on licensees and the guns registered to them, revoked licenses, weapons prohibition orders and refused applications. As of January 1, 2003, the law has required that all firearms in Canada be registered. CFRO will contain information on prohibited, restricted and non-restricted firearms in Canada.

CFRO can be queried by name (or corporate name), address, telephone number, firearm licence number, registration certificate or authorization number, firearm serial number or firearm identification number.

Firearms Interest Police

The FIP file contains information from local police agencies about a person's convictions, discharges or prior contact with police for violent incidents, and treatment for violent mental illness, and details of any other public safety concerns. If a query reveals an entry on the FIP, police can then obtain more detailed information about the recorded incidents from the local records of the contributing policy agency.

Case Example

In 1996, Mark Chahal shot and killed his estranged wife and her family in Vernon, British Columbia, and then committed suicide. An inquest into the murders revealed that, in the months leading up to the shootings, Mr. Chahal had applied for and received a Firearms Acquisition Certificate. He then applied for and received a permit to purchase a semi-automatic handgun, which he registered for target practice. Days before the shooting, Chahal purchased a 10-round magazine for one of his handguns and practised shooting at his gun club several days later.

Throughout this period, Chahal dealt with several different police forces. Since the information was not centrally registered, no pattern could be detected. This information is now maintained in a central database, thereby providing police with a new opportunity to monitor and assess individual situations for increasing risk of harm.

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