Gun-crime is a scourge that crosses many boundaries. It is not the domain of one group, however there is one group with a charter to drive this crime down – the NSW Police Force.
Tackling gun crime remains the number one priority of the NSW Police Force, and we are committed to doing everything we can to put gun-toting criminals where they belong – behind bars.
In August 2013, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione announced a realignment of resources within the NSW Police Force. As part of the realignment, Operation Talon was formed.
Operation Talon
Operation Talon is a new, unified and centrally-controlled operation solely focused on tackling gun-crime in Sydney.
Operation Talon will draw resources from across the entire NSW Police Force in order to get guns off our streets.
Operation Talon intends to hunt down and arrest anyone who believes it is okay to shoot a gun in a Sydney street.
In addition to arresting the people involved in gun-crime, Operation Talon aims to locate and seize the illegal firearms, ammunition and weaponry criminals use to disturb the peace of our neighbourhoods.
How is Operation Talon different?
In outlining our strategic plan for Operation Talon, we studied and analysed the approach of previous gun-crime operations, before highlighting what worked well, and identifying what we needed to do differently in the current environment.
As a result, Operation Talon will be defined by:
- More centralised intelligence and analysis
- A more centralised command and control model than previous operations
- Ramped-up investigations
- More thorough forensic analysis of seized weapons
- Broader community engagement and communications
How does Operation Talon work?
Put simply, Operation Talon will be driven by a centralised group of intelligence officers and analysts, who will download and examine all of the latest data, trends and information concerning gun-crime in Sydney.
Our officers on the street will then use this intelligence to constantly target and engage anyone suspected of being involved in gun crime. This targeting will take place day and night, seven days a week, and will be augmented by regular community engagement to help us build upon the information we have already obtained.
Operation Spartan and Operation Apollo (previous gun-related operations) have been amalgamated into Operation Talon.
Both Spartan and Apollo were immensely successful. Between the two operations, officers seized more than 140 firearms, made in excess of 1,000 arrests and laid more than 2,000 charges.
Talon intends to build upon the success of Spartan and Apollo, by combining resources and intelligence into one, centrally-controlled operation.
Is gun crime increasing?
In historical terms, gun-crime in Sydney is not increasing. In fact, the number of shootings this year is down on last year, and well down on 2001, the peak year for shootings over the last two decades.
Nevertheless, the community is still seeing far too many bullets being fired on Sydney’s streets – something the NSW Police Force is committed to tackling head on.
Why you should help
Gun-crime is committed by a variety of different criminals for a variety of different reasons. Due to the multitude of factors involved, police alone cannot stop it.
Of course, we are investing a huge amount of resource into the fight against gun-crime, but we need your help to ensure we win.
Without police and the community working hand-in-hand, criminals will continue to use illegal firearms guns to fire bullets in our suburbs. Innocent lives will be lost and families will be ripped apart.
Make a stand to stop gun-crime, and provide us with the information we need to get illegal firearms, and the criminals who use them, off our streets.
How you can help
Please contact us if you have any information that may help in the fight against gun-crime, particularly:
* If you have knowledge of the whereabouts of a firearm you suspect isn’t legal;
* If you witness a shooting incident;
* If you know someone – a friend or a relative or a neighbour – who you suspect has a firearm or is involved in criminal activity.
Your information could save someone from pursuing a life of crime, ending up in jail, being wounded or, worse yet, being killed.
We don’t need to know who you are; all we need is the information you have to hand.
Please remember, any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could help us get dangerous criminals and firearms off the street.
If I have information I think could help, how should I pass it on to police?
In an emergency call Triple Zero (000).
Other information can be provided to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://www1.police.nsw.gov.au/. You can choose to remain anonymous.
Information can be provided in a number of languages.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages