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Police allege the couple was murdered by senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon last week, which has in turn provoked debate around the protocols around how, why and when police are able to use firearms.
How and when do officers have access to a gun?
Police access their firearm and carry out a set of drills to ensure it is in working order. They then place the weapon in their holster while in the room, and then leave. At the end of the shift, they return their firearm, going through the same procedure.
Are they ever able to access a weapon off-duty?
There will be a record made at that police station that an officer has placed his/her firearm in that station’s safe. Police firearms are not always checked to see if it has been discharged. This is due to the massive amount of administrative and policing time this would take.
How do police have to account for the weapons and the bullets?
All audits include checking firearm serial numbers, the number of bullets and the number of magazines each officer has in their organisational records. So any missing bullets would be noticed, but perhaps not right away.