Davison's shotgun was not kept where police thought it should be
The jury also heard there was a lack of formal training for staff assessing shotgun applications
Last updated 31st Jan 2023
The Plymouth gunman was not expected to have a shotgun at his home, a jury were today told.
A former force firearms enquiry officer has been giving evidence at the inquests into the five people shot dead by Jake Davison in August 2021.
Police expected the shotgun to be kept at Davison's uncle's - who he went clay pigeon shooting with in Cornwall.
The inquest today heard the officer had no power to set a license 'condition' as part of the application
The inquest into the five people shot dead in Plymouth today also heard about the way police categorised potential risks - and whether a risk matrix was being misinterpreted.
The jury were today shown an official report by the force firearms enquiry officer which expected the shotgun to be kept at his uncle's home, because Davison did not drive.
The jury were told Davison went clay pigeon shooting with his uncle in Cornwall, who was an existing shotgun and class 1 firearms license holder, and his uncle was supportive of the shotgun application - but the location where it was stored was not a 'condition' of the license.
When asked about the checks into Davison's background, the jury were told Davison assaulting two teachers aged 12 - headbutting and spitting on one and placing another in a headlock - was not deemed a cause for concern when he applied for a shotgun license five years later.
The jury also heard in 2018 an internal police email questioned whether the risk matrix - for deciding on shotgun applications - was being misinterpreted.
David Rees, who carried out the initial checks for Davison's application, has been outlining the training he was given at the time to decide who was fit to hold a shotgun license.
He told the inquest that mostly men applied for shotgun or firearms licenses, and in the 'vast majority' of cases' it would be the 'norm' to grant the application.
Mr Rees started in the role soon after the 2016 updated Home Office guidance about weapons licensing.
When asked about the training he was given, he said there was nothing formal and staff took part in a 'mentor buddy system - learning on the job'. He explained there was an online course from the college of policing, which would have taken an experienced person six months to complete, but no staff member had completed it as they were expecting the course to be updated.
The former force firearms enquiry officer has revealed an internal email was sent in 2018 saying some people may wrongly be interpreting the 'risk matrix'.
This could have meant potentially high-risk decisions were not being taken at an appropriate senior level. The inquest has previously heard that any red flags - such as a decision to return a shotgun once removed - would automatically make the application 'high risk' and need a senior person's sign off. Mr Rees today confirmed he thought only the 'final decision' - after the matrix process was followed - would decide if the case was high risk or not. The inquest was told this difference in approach would have resulted in the senior person in the department not knowing how many red flags an application originally contained, only the final view of it
The jury heard a 'form 57' was the usual process of sending a low risk decision verdict to be processed - but in Davison's case Mr Reece took the 'unusual' step of filling in a form 51, which brings it to the attention of the supervisor. He also added that he gave a 'recommendation not a decision' and added 'what's the point in writing a report if nobody's going to read it'.
Mr Rees said he had not dealt with a case involving the autism-related conditions presented by Davison on an application before, hence his 'unusual' decision to fill out a form 51.
The inquest heard Davison's police file - which was studied as part of his shotgun application - included details of placing a teacher in a headlock and spitting and headbutting another teacher while being restrained while he was 12 in October 2010. The incidents were recorded as 'common assault' and a school-based community resolution/restorative justice 'solution' were recorded.
In November 2011, another community resolution was recorded after Davison - then 13 - was recorded for a 'GBH assault' after punching another child and causing a visible injury.
When asked why the two incidents were not a cause for concern as part of the shotgun application, Mr Rees said the incidents had been dealt with by a school around five years previously.
The jury heard that notes on Davison's file, from when he was 12, recorded ongoing possible mental health issues. There was also a note saying Davison's mum Maxine hoped to refer him to a GP and that he may have responded to bullying at school by assaulting the two teachers and taken his anger out on the wrong people after he 'blew his top'.
The inquest also heard only one reference was recorded on the shotgun application form - despite Davison's former teacher (who was the reference) expecting others to also be asked about the application. At the time a firearms license required two references, but at the time a shotgun application only needed one.
The jury were told that if someone applying for a shotgun license said - as Davison had- it was to shoot clay pigeons then their word was 'taken'. In Davison's case the uncle who had taken Davison clay pigeon shooting in Cornwall later said - when asked - he was 'fully supportive' of the application.
The process also heard that Davison's 'word' was also taken when he said he was not taking medication' and had never been treated for stress, anxiety or depression.
Because Davison did not drive, Mr Rees had made an initial suggestion that it would make sense for the uncle to store the shotgun - but there was no requirement for Mr Rees to ensure that change as he could not 'place a condition' on a shotgun license, but could on a more stringent firearm certificate.
The inquests continue.
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