Gun owners are being reminded they have a responsibility to stop their firearms falling into the wrong hands.

A police intelligence report has revealed increasing numbers of gang members are using highly powered weapons, including military style semi-automatics, and machine guns.

Many of the firearms are believed stolen from legitimate licensed owners.

Labour's police spokesperson Kelvin Davis says gun owners and the police need to work together to throttle supply.

"The general public who are gun owners need to make sure their guns are locked away out of sight," he says.

"For the sake of a few hundred dollars, it's a good investment to have a proper gun cabinet that can't be removed."

Davis says there are risks in policing, and officers need to assess the situation to stay safe.

"You could say that any situation, even stopping someone for a routine ticket on the side of the road, is going to put police in danger."