If you can Google, you can get the schematics to create a 3D-printed firearm or weapon, says B.C.B次元官网网址檚 anti-gang police agency.

That was the message from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit Tuesday (July 11) warning the public, parents and their children of the dangers of 3D printers.

B次元官网网址淵ou can literally go on to the internet and Google 3D printing schematics and plans, and unless thereB次元官网网址檚 oversight in visibility of what is being done, there is a risk that our children might be printing things that we wouldnB次元官网网址檛 want them to have,B次元官网网址� explained Staff Sgt. Baltej Dhillon, program manager for CFSEUB次元官网网址檚 crime guns investigative and intelligence group.

B次元官网网址淏ecause itB次元官网网址檚 so new and weB次元官网网址檙e still learning ourselves the risks and dangers to it, this is an extraordinary step that weB次元官网网址檙e taking to make sure our children donB次元官网网址檛 find themselves in a situation and parents donB次元官网网址檛 find themselves in a situation that theyB次元官网网址檙e having to come to a police station and bring their child along. That make be a best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is the child getting hurt.B次元官网网址�

Police have dubbed them privately made firearms, but plans can also include 3D-printed B次元官网网址渂rassB次元官网网址� knuckles, knives and grenades. CFSEU had several 3D-printed guns on display, along with a 3D printing in progress for the frame for a Glock 26.

B次元官网网址淚t really didnB次元官网网址檛 take our team long to figure out how to print from the online sources,B次元官网网址� noted Daisy Wong, lab manager with CFSEUB次元官网网址檚 Provincial Forensic Firearms Lab.

Wong is part of a team that takes the seized items, assesses them and determines if they can readily be made into a firearm. If they can, then itB次元官网网址檚 likely a prosecutable offence.

What the team has found is that 50 per cent of them are B次元官网网址渇ailed jobs,B次元官网网址� which have flaws and can pose structural integrity issues, but the rest are operable as is.

A 3D printer can make about 80 per cent of a firearm and the remaining 20 per cent are all parts that are legal to purchase, such as barrels and trigger mechanisms.

Dhillon has had a decades-long career in policing, but he never expected to 3D-printed guns as a cause for concern.

B次元官网网址淧rivately made firearms are here to stay, but this technology is absolutely scary.B次元官网网址�

Operations officer Insp. Joel Hussey said TuesdayB次元官网网址檚 warning wasnB次元官网网址檛 about B次元官网网址渕oving away from the huge benefit that 3D printing provides,B次元官网网址� but instead being aware and mitigating the risks with what the technology can do.

B次元官网网址淭hat is what is concerning to the public is that theyB次元官网网址檙e being made to look like real guns B次元官网网址� that is concerning. Also equally disturbing, as you see here, theyB次元官网网址檙e made to look like toys, so they also pose that risk to public.B次元官网网址�

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He said in B.C. and Canada, there has yet to be a high number of these type of firearms, but law enforcement agencies are noticing a year-over-year rise in seizures and illegal use of the 3D-printed firearms. ItB次元官网网址檚 becoming a global trend.

In Canada, the number of privately made firearms in 2021 was B次元官网网址渏ust shy of 200,B次元官网网址� but it rose to 500 the following year.

Comparatively, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the U.S. seized about 8,500 in 2020. That number rose to 19,000 in 2021.

lauren.collins@blackpress.ca
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