Interstate police will lead a review into the handling of police-issued weapons after a NSW officer allegedly shot his ex-boyfriend and his new partner with his service gun.
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Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, 28, is behind bars after being charged with murdering former Ten reporter Jesse Baird, 26, and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, 29, in Sydney on February 19.
As detectives and divers desperately searched for the couple's bodies on Monday, attention turned to the procedures that enabled the senior constable to check out his police weapon at least three days before the alleged murders.
The youth command officer was to be deployed to monitor a rally on February 18.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said she had asked her Victorian counterpart - Chief Commissioner Shane Patton - to appoint a senior officer to help review access and storage of police-issued guns in her force.
The review would focus on access for officers in specialist commands, surrounding so-called user-pays events, she said.
"It's a failure if someone is using a service firearm in the manner that's alleged, which is why it's necessary to have a review," Ms Webb told reporters.
"There's been a gap in this instance and that will form part of the critical incident investigation ... but we need to look more widely right across our organisation."
While Lamarre-Condon had not been reported for domestic violence-related matters, the state police watchdog in June found most investigations into officers for those offences included poor record-keeping about the removal of their firearms.
Ms Webb said the force had been updating its "robust" policies and procedures ever since.
"Clearly there is more work to be done," she said.
"We need to look more widely right across our organisation, for those circumstances that are non-24-hour police days, specialist units and user-pay type events."
Police commands had also been ordered to review firearms and their own processes for checking out weapons, which a station supervisor should oversee.
The morning after the user-pays event, Lamarre-Condon allegedly entered Mr Baird's home in inner-Sydney's Paddington with his police gun.
Witnesses reported hearing what may have been several gunshots about 9.50am, although only one bullet was found in the share house.
A day later, Lamarre-Condon allegedly signed his weapon into Balmain police station, near his mother's house, before moving it back to the Miranda station the following day.
After being named in media reports about the two mens' disappearances, he handed himself in to police and was charged with two counts of murder on Friday.
The 28-year-old senior constable has not entered a plea and has, after legal advice, exercised his right to silence.
Australian Associated Press
