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AAP
AAP
National
Maeve Bannister and Luke Costin

Trackers weighed for police guns after double killing

NSW may look at attaching GPS trackers to police guns. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

GPS trackers could be tacked onto all NSW police firearms following the alleged murder of a Sydney couple with an officially issued weapon.

But a former sergeant turned criminologist has flagged that trust will be a necessary part of any system dictating how officers access guns.

Police procedures have been spotlighted since off-duty NSW officer Beau Lamarre-Condon was accused of using his sidearm to kill on February 19.

The bodies of Jesse Baird, 26, and Luke Davies, 29, were found eight days later inside surfboard bags at a rural property in Bungonia near Goulburn, about 200km southwest of Sydney.

The case has placed pressure on the force to review its weapon policies and procedures, with some arguing it is time to install weapons with GPS trackers.

Premier Chris Minns on Monday said he would consider all recommendations from the review, to be led by a senior officer at Victoria Police.

"We need to firstly understand how ubiquitous GPS trackers are on police equipment," he told reporters.

Chris Minns (file image)
Chris Minns says he's open to all advice from the review into NSW Police. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

He said change was required and the review findings would be published but he pushed back at a suggestion some quarters could be resistant.

"I wouldn't say that this necessarily means we're in for a fight with stakeholders or the police association," Mr Minns said.

"We can work through potential changes."

Investigators allege the February 19 attack was premeditated after a months-long campaign of "predatory behaviour" towards Mr Baird, who Lamarre-Condon briefly dated.

The 28-year-old senior constable allegedly had possession of his police weapon for four days around the time of the murder - something that did not initially raise suspicions.

Police Commissioner Karen Webb has conceded the access amounted to a failure.

Former sergeant Ross Hendy highlighted the system would always rely on trust.

"Police officers always have access to weapons that the majority of the population don't," the criminology lecturer at Monash University told AAP.

"We operate in an environment where we expect that officers won't abuse that trust."

A former officer with New Zealand Police, he backed the use of an external police force to review NSW policies as "very necessary and wise" after a "very, very rare" event.

But like all approaches to safety, things would only be as safe as the way in which someone follows safety protocols.

"Ultimately, we can't put ourselves into a position where it's impossible for a police officer to access a firearm when they need a firearm," Dr Hendy said.

"So there's always going to be an element of trust that officers will follow protocol. 

"If it is made too restrictive, then there could be unforeseen consequences.

"Often it comes down to what are the risks that can be forecast and then balancing the operational requirements to be able to reduce that risk."

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