11,439 people hold licences to have firearms
IN WAKE OF THE SHOOTINGS IN PLYMOUTH, FIGURES SHOW 38,000 WEAPONS OWNED IN COUNTY AND RUTLAND
We are asking police to review practices and whether any existing licences need to be looked at again Home Office source
AS ministers pledge to review gun laws following the Plymouth mass shooting, figures reveal more than 11,000 people across Leicestershire and Rutland hold a licence for a shotgun or other firearm.
Jake Davison, 22, shot and killed five people including his own mother and a three-year-old girl in Keyham, Plymouth, on the evening of Thursday, August 12, before taking his own life.
Davison was a licensed gun holder and his licence and shotgun had been returned to him by police just weeks before the shooting spree, after he lost his licence due to an assault allegation.
All police forces across England and Wales are being asked to urgently review their practices around granting firearms certificates in the wake of the attack.
Figures from the Home Office show 11,439 people in the area covered by Leicestershire Police held a firearm or shotgun certificate – or both – at the end of March. Between them, they own more than 38,000 weapons.
Anyone who acquires or owns a firearm must hold a certificate issued by the chief officer of the police force area where they live, unless they are exempt.
Exemptions include firearms of police officers and people authorised to sell guns.
To issue a certificate, the chief officer must be satisfied that the applicant has a good reason for having the firearm, they are fit to be entrusted with one, and that public safety or peace will not be endangered.
Firearm and shotgun certificates are valid for five years from the date they are issued.
Following the Plymouth attack, a Home Office source said the department would publish new guidance to improve how people applying for a firearms licence are assessed in future, including social media checks.
The source added: “But today, as a matter of urgency, we are asking the police to review their practices and whether any existing licences need to be looked at again. This will help reassure people that all necessary checks have been made to keep them safe.”
The appeal follows the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s (IOPC) announcement o that it would investigate Devon and Cornwall Police’s decision-making in relation to Davison’s possession of a shotgun and shotgun certificate.
It has also emerged that Davison had made online references to “incels” – short for “involuntary celibates” and often used to describe men who blame women for their sexual failings, and who promote misogynistic views and even violence towards women.
The gun licence figures show that 94 per cent of people with guns in Leicestershire and Rutland – a total of 10,721 individuals – are men.
The firearm certificates in Leicestershire and Rutland cover weapons including 5,307 rifles, 272 handguns, and 157 muzzle-loading handguns, which are loaded from the open end of the gun’s barrel.
Across England and Wales, there were far fewer new applications for firearm and shotgun certificates in 2020-21, which the Home Office said was likely to be due at least in part to the pandemic.
In Leicestershire, 216 new firearm or shotgun certificate applications were granted in the past year, while five were refused.
A further 2,512 renewal applications were granted and two refused, while 24 certificates were revoked.
In total, licences cover 38,118 shotguns and other firearms in the area, which works out as 35 for every 1,000 people – just above the national average of 34 across England and Wales.