'Plainly criminal': Accused woman hid .22 calibre rifle during police raid

The woman contacted police in 2023, leading members to attend a Coleraine property on September 7 in search of a number of firearms that were alleged to be at the property.

As members knocked on the door, the woman moved a pink bolt action rifle to a locked bedroom where she hid it underneath a pile of clothes on a bed.

She then let the police members inside and denied knowing where the firearm was.

Police seized a number of remaining guns from the property, which were owned by another person.

After questioning, the woman caved and showed members where she'd hidden the gun which was also seized.

She self-presented at Hamilton police station at a later date and was arrested and subsequently charged with offences.

She allegedly told police the gun was intended to be hers once she held a Firearm Licence and she hid it in the hope police wouldn't find it.

The woman successfully applied to be placed on a diversion program in Hamilton Magistrates Court on April 10, 2024.

Diversion provides mainly first time offenders with the opportunity to avoid a criminal record.

A lawyer for the woman told the court it was her client who called the police about the firearms after recently separating from her partner.

She said her client did not realise at the time her offending was wrong but now understood the severity.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said the offending was "plainly criminal".

"You were attempting to get around an important law that is there for community safety," he said.

He said laws were in place for very good reason, to "protect people, and there's a strong public policy behind that".

The magistrate accepted a criminal record would significantly affect the woman's employment.

The charges will be dismissed if the woman does not re-offend in a 12-month period.

She must also pay $750 to the court fund, which is dispersed to local communities.

Victoria Police western region division two firearms officer Leading Senior Constable Graeme Cox recently told The Standard police needed to know where firearms were at all times.

A nationwide gun amnesty became permanent in 2021.