It is very unlikely that they will sidle up and ask if it’s real, especially if it is pointed towards them.

Our client returned to NSW and drove to a beachside location, intending to go surfing. He got a call to say a female friend was also going surfing there, so he waited for her. While waiting, he took the weapon out of its packaging and pointed it out to sea, sighting it along the bonnet while holding it outside the driver’s window.

A member of the public saw this, ran off and called police. The female arrived and got in the car. The client was showing her the weapon, or “waving it around in the car” as the observant civilian told 000 as he continued to watch from a distance. Meanwhile, the police donned ballistic armour and secured the vehicle in no uncertain terms.

The client found himself face down in the gravel with a real gun pointed at him, while the female was removed unceremoniously. After handcuffing the young man, police removed the weapon and arrested him. They searched the vehicle and located ammunition.

The client was informed of how close police were to asking for Tactical Response to handle the matter, in which case he may have been far worse off.

Nonetheless, they made it plain that had he aimed at them, they were entitled and ready to fire – and a .40/9mm round from a real Glock won’t feel like a paintball hit.

Police noted in the antecedents section of the fact sheet that “…[he] was not remorseful and struggled to understand the danger he had placed himself, the public and the police in”. He was refused bail on the “show cause” pistol charge.

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After submission on sentence, the magistrate imposed two community correction orders of 12 months each, to run concurrently, plus a fine for each offence. The client was released after almost 24 hours in custody.

Social media seems to have played a prominent role here, with Queensland youngsters relating the great fun they had playing with these “imitation” guns, but without mentioning (or perhaps even knowing) that other states declare them illegal. There have been a number of such prosecutions through the courts recently. And clearly, any firearms offence is treated as being serious.

As for our young client, he now has convictions for firearms and ammunition offences. If he ever wants to travel or apply for any one of a range of jobs, he will have to painstakingly convince an embassy official or potential employer that “it was all just a joke”. Perhaps he can show them the charges and the fact sheet, although that may indicate a level of naivete he may not want to disclose.

This is a costly lesson in an area of increasing concern, as authorities try to maintain Australia’s “gun-safe” reputation amid a tide of imitation weapons and their use. It seems ridiculous to allow these imitation firearms into the country, especially when they are replicating current automatic weapons used by police and the military.

As every police officer knows, there is no safety catch on a Glock. If someone is waving around what looks like a Glock, a police officer is more likely to shoot than wait to be shot, so the potential for injury and death due to possession of an imitation handgun is very real.

The collateral damage to a young person’s character after conviction is another painful lesson that can be derived from the use of internet platforms. Maybe some details of those convicted of serious assault, robbery and related charges, after pleading guilty – “but it was only a fake gun”, could be publicised just as prominently on social media as the tales and photos of people’s jolly exploits with replica handguns.

John Gooley is a criminal lawyer at Stacks Collins Thompson in Hornsby, NSW.