Only two of these 22 said that they had hidden the weapon after the robbery. To sum up, weapons appear to be an integral part of robbery for most offenders. Their presence and threat of usage are used to 'convince' victims to part with the money or goods in their possession. Firearms appear to be the favoured choice of many offenders, probably because of a perception that victims find them more threatening. There is probably also a perception that firearms are better for controlling groups of people during a robbery.
Firearms appear to be readily obtainable in the Australian community, from a variety of sources.
Stricter gun laws, aimed at making it more difficult to obtain a firearm, may have some impact on the frequency of robbery. The impact would probably be greatest in the area of 'spontaneous' robberies. In these robberies, offenders often make a spur of the moment decision, purchase a firearm, and carry out a robbery, all in a short space of time. Gun laws which prevent the 'spontaneous' purchase of a firearm, may result in some potential offenders 'cooling off' and deciding against doing the robbery. While our study provides no direct evidence to support these statements, some of the findings do suggest that firearms are relatively easy to obtain in Australia at present.