Police 'would have told gun unit about violence' but missed marker

The inquest into the Plymouth shootings has heard police should have known Jake Davison had a shotgun when they investigated him for violence.

While the incident did not involve the gun, the jury were told the force licensing department would have been told about the violence - so they could decide if he was still fit to have a shotgun.

The inquest into the five people Davison killed in August 2021, today heard about the police decision to not charge him with a serious assault after an incident in a Plymouth park in September 2020.

The jury were told a basic search of the police computer would have shown Davison had a shotgun, but the information was missed.

The inquest has been looking at the charging decision to ask whether a court appearance would have resulted in Davison's shotgun being removed and returned.

The jury's previously been shown CCTV footage of Davison violently attacking a youngster in a park.

Davison, who admitted to the offence after seeing a police appeal (pictured), later accepted the person injured - a male teenager who was repeatedly hit while on the ground - was not the one who provoked him.

Detective Inspector Debbie Wyatt, the then sergeant who made the decision to send Davison's case to Pathfinder, told the jury he would have been referred to the scheme regardless of the way they recorded and classified the assault (ie ABH or not).

The jury heard advice to police at the time, from the Crown Prosecution Service and backed by the police chiefs' council, said the 'impact of Covid 19 is an additional factor' that should be considered when deciding whether to charge someone with a lower level offence - to help ease pressure on the courts system at the time.

DI Wyatt believes a court appearance for Davison would have resulted in a conditional discharge and maybe court costs and victim surcharge.

The jury were told Davison was given a more than 30-page document and self-help 'work book' on controlling anger as part of the Pathfinder scheme.

DI Wyatt told the jury that 'knowing now what the defendant went on to it was not appropriate' but her decision, based on evidence at the time, seemed appropriate.

She added that since the Keyham shootings 'I have wondered what I could have done better' and that from speaking with colleagues she was 'reassured my decision was balanced and accurate'.

When asked what she would have done if she'd known Davison held a shotgun certificate, Ms Wyatt told the jury: "I don't think I would have changed it."

The jury were told she would have likely delayed the decision and contacted the force firearms licensing unit to let them know that while the weapon was not part of the offence it involved violence and they may wish to look into the incident.

When asked if incidents of violence in Davison's past – such as during his school days - should have been taken into account, DI Wyatt said there was 'not a long history (of violence) by my standards'.

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The process of a 'high-risk' decision to award a shotgun license to someone where it has previously been removed was outlined at the inquest - along with details of a 2015 report looking into the way 11 forces operated their firearms licensing department.

A video montage detailing the events of the night of the Keyham shooting was played to the jury at the inquest in Exeter.

The accounts of neighbours in Biddick Drive have been read to the jury at the ongoing inquests into the five people shot dead in Plymouth in August 2021.

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