Shooting Times & Country Magazine
Ageing database overhaul
The Home Office’s ageing database system — which is used to record the details of firearms and their owners — is to be replaced in what may be a major step towards a fully integrated online licensing system.
The National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS) was introduced in the early 2000s and has not been significantly updated since.
The system has had problematic history. It went £1.5 million over its £5 million budget, and in 2013, South Yorkshire Police was forced to write to certificate holders asking what guns they had after a data entry clerk failed to update thousands of records.
Gaps in the database’s functionality have been an obstacle to developing a fully integrated online system for firearms licensing.
Now the Home Office is tendering to replace the NFLMS with a system that is “flexible” and “adaptable to change and future refinement”.
Bill Harriman, BASC’S director of firearms, welcomed the news. “It is essential that any new system undertakes a significant data cleanse with particular focus on firearm details and duplications, introduces efficient training for licensing officers and interfaces with existing databases,” he said.
“If implemented correctly, the new system has the potential to significantly improve the service provided to the shooting community.”
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