Registered gun owners can expect a letter in the mail, informing them of the Narrogin police’s intention to inspect their gun safe.

Prompted by an increase in firearm thefts across the Great Southern, Narrogin police are carrying out checks on owners’ firearm safes.

Narrogin Constable Haydn Counsel hopes that educating gun owners on the correct specification of gun safes will prevent further burglaries.

“What you can expect is a letter of intent signed by the Senior Sergeant of the Narrogin Police Station, proposing our intention of coming around and inspecting the cabinet storage and visually inspect all the firearms licensed to the person,” he said.

“This is just to make sure that the cabinets comply with the firearms regulation.

“It is a step towards community safety.”

In the townships of Narrogin and Cuballing alone, there are 600 registered firearm owners.

According to Const. Counsel, firearms on bigger properties are also at risk of theft if they’re not secured properly.

“Unfortunately police across the Great Southern region and across WA are receiving more and more reports that firearms are being stolen,” he said.

“Sometimes rural and semi-rural properties, which obviously in the Narrogin area is a fair few people.

“Whether the storage isn’t quite up to standard or whether the firearms aren’t secured correctly, we can’t stop all firearms from being stolen, all we can do as a community is bend better towards the standard.”

In the letters addressed to registered firearm holders,Const. Counsel has included the schedule for intended inspections as well as information on the firearm cabinet specifications required by law.

“If it’s not up to standard we’ll give you a chance to do the right thing,” he said.

“If there is real negligence we’ll obviously have to dosomething, but we will give people the chance to fix things and come around again.”