Partners will be questioned in new firearm screening trial

Gun licence applicants will face tougher processes when applying for firearms after five forces in Wales and England trial a new ownership scheme.

The new system would see family members and partners questioned to prevent people with a history of abuse owning firearms.

The forces - Gwent, the Met Police, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire - are testing a new questionnaire that's been designed to create a more detailed case into anyone who wants to own a gun.

It's already been used to refuse and reject some applications, and in some cases, has seen existing firearm licences revoked before the usual five-year review period that's in force across most of the UK.

More than 5,000 applications have been subject to the new questionnaire since the trial began last year, and whilst it's not a legal requirement, applicants who refuse to take part or share their partner's details can face an automatic refusal.

Project Titanium has been developed by Gwent Police alongside survivors of domestic abuse. One of those is 51 year old Rhianon Bragg, whose ex-partner held her at gun point in 2019 after she ended their relationship.

"We're allowing people to have weapons - there should be a level of responsibility that goes with that. Some of it will be linked to the fact we do not have enough education at all levels yet about domestic abuse, about coercive control and the impact these have throughout society," she says.

Bragg added: "Despite everything I've experienced, I'm not anti-shooting. It is though, that the possession of weapons legally is a privilege and it should be treated as such. Again, I'm not anti-gun, I'm anti people who aren't safe owning firearms."

Gwent Police say their firearms licensing officers are trained to assess the risk of the applicants through a range of scenarios designed to highlight any red flags about that particular person.

Partners are interviewed alone, either in person or via remote means, to ensure that their answers are as truthful as possible. Rhianon says that Project Titanium's existence could have prevented the attack her ex-partner carried out and she hopes her involvement in the questionnaire's design will help others in a similar situation to the one she experienced.

She said: "He was a gun licence holder, the gun he held to my chest was one he legally possessed. What I want to do is make a difference, I didn't want anyone else to go through what had happened to me and my children."

"To be contacted and asked to be involved was a no brainer for me."

The National Police Chief's Council outlined how their gun licence and statutory guidance had been updated to carry out more extensive checks before someone is issued with a firearms licence, including tighter restrictions surrounding domestic abuse and coercive control.

The forces involved with the trial scheme say the feedback has so far been positive but that the results will be assessed.

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