'Not unusual' for police licensing officers not to get everything they wanted from GPs

The inquest into the deaths of five people in Plymouth today heard it was not 'unusual' to receive nothing back when police asked for further details about medical information for people applying for gun licences.

The jury were told at the time there was no national framework for how to respond to further requests for information being declined.

Today the ongoing inquest heard there had been calls for better monitoring and training for firearms licensing officers nationally in the years before Jake Davison was awarded a shotgun licence.

In 2015 a review of 11 forces - which included Dorset and its work with Devon & Cornwall - called on all chief constables to 'establish arrangements for effective monitoring' of firearms licensing officers within six months.

Chief superintendent Roy Linden of Devon and Cornwall Police admitted there was an 'absence of effective training in terms of providing an oversight of the broad spectrum of what is required' - in the role at the time - but added: "the process itself (of following the step-by-step form) is straight forward."

When asked, if in his 2021 review, he was 'satisfied' recommendations from the 2015 report were being followed, Chief Superintendent Roy Linden said he was not.

A 2018 independent audit of the administration of the licensing department by lay people (i.e. not an official police investigation unit such as HMIC) raised concerns about the way forms were being filled out.

The inquest heard that one example case, waiting for a medical response to help inform a licence application decision, was graded as 'acceptable' when the risk matrix would have placed it as 'moderate'. The court heard, in response, each case is considered on a 'case by case' basis and the final decision would rest on a number of factors being taken into account.

The jury were told the guidance, at the time, was for licensing staff to respond when someone had declared a medical condition by using their own knowledge - and also if needed to seek advice from a force medical person or approved practitioner. They were told not to consult specialists 'unnecessarily'.

The court heard an admission that Devon and Cornwall Police, at the time, did not make it 'explicitly clear' in its firearms licensing officer role profiles what was expected from staff.

This week the inquest heard Devon & Cornwall Police has the highest number of shotgun and firearms certificates in the UK. 'Shotgun' and 'firearms' are recorded separately see details here

In 2017, the year Jake Davison applied for a shotgun licence, the county had roughly 40,000 gun licences issued and would process or renew 3,000 a year.

The 2015 review into 11 police firearms units across the country - which included Dorset and its close working with Devon & Cornwall - raised serious concerns about forces 'not following' Home Office guidance and calling some processing 'inadequate and inconsistent'.

Yesterday the jury were told the type of pump-action shotgun Jake Davison was using was not a traditional one used in the sport of clay pigeon shootings.

The jury were shown images of the shotgun, which was compared to a traditional-style shotgun and also shown a similarity to a police tactical pump-action shotgun.

The inquest heard the number of Devon & Cornwall shotgun renewals or applications in 2017 were roughly 2,000 from April to April, but in 2018 it was 1,000 and around 950 in 2019. In 2020 it increased to 1,900 and 2021 was also around 1,900.

The figures - showing the workload of the department - are due to be looked at in further detail next week.

Figures also show the number of firearms-related incidents in the Devon & Cornwall force area consistently remain below the national average.

At the time of the initial application for a shotgun licence by Jake Davison (2017) the Devon & Cornwall policy was that the Home Office guidance - at the time - should be followed and kept up to date.

The inquest heard the force's policy was that someone from the force should remove the firearms certificate, gun and ammunition if concerns are raised - such as violence and mental health.

At the time there was no nationally accredited training programme for firearms' enquiry officers and was down to individual forces to ensure training. The inquest heard a 'role profile' was available but no 'comprehensive syllabus' for training. It was confirmed a trial of a 'course' was tried by the college of policing in 2017 and 2018 but that has been subsequently withdrawn.

A process and checklist was available on a form, which firearms licensing would follow, but it was expected 'operational staff' would carry out any further investigations needed.