Merseyside Police handed gun owners 131 new firearms licences in the 12 months to March this year but stated the force was committed to stopping weapons "falling into the wrong hands".
Gun crime has reduced significantly in Merseyside compared to recent years, although there have been a number of serious injuries from shootings recorded this year - including two men shot in recent weeks. The UK has some of the tightest gun control laws in the world, but it is still possible to obtain a licence for certain kinds of firearms with strict conditions.
The law has also recently changed following a mass shooting in Plymouth on August 12 last year. Self-declared 'incel' Jake Davison, 22, killed five people, including a three-year-old girl, with a legally owned shotgun which he then turned on himself.
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At one stage Davison had his firearm and licence taken away when he was accused of assault, but it was later returned to him. The new rules mean GPs can add a “digital marker” to a patient’s medical record after being notified by the police that someone has a firearm or shotgun licence.
The system, which only applies in England, is intended to remind doctors to consider alerting the police if a gun owner starts to suffer from a medical condition that may make having the weapon unsafe. The Government had already introduced new rules requiring anyone applying for a gun licence to fill out a medical form signed by a doctor.
Home Office data shows that in the 12 months up to March 22, Merseyside Police granted 29 firearms licences and 92 shotgun licences, as well as 10 'coterminous' licences allowing a gun owner to combine existing licences for different weapons.
A firearms licence can apply to a large range of weapons, such as hunting type rifles, and is limited to the exact type of firearm listed on the certificate. Shotgun licences refer to "types" of shotguns, meaning you can own different models within that type.
Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Wilson, of Merseyside Police said: "A licence will only be issued once applications have been assessed by our dedicated team of experts, a robust process of background checks is completed and the individual meets stringent criteria set out in the Home Office’s national legislation.
"If a certificate holder has a change of circumstances that mean they no longer have good reason to own a firearm or a change in suitability, for example if they become involved in criminality or there is a health-related issue, then their certificate can be revoked.
"All certificate holders must adhere to by strict requirements in storing their firearms securely and, if their weapon is lost or stolen, they must report this to the police.
“At Merseyside Police we regularly take part in proactive work to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands and prevent them from being used in criminality on the streets of Merseyside. We participate in nationwide firearms surrender campaigns where we work with local firearms dealers and gun clubs to give people the opportunity to dispose of firearms and ammunition in a safe and responsible way."
“During our latest two-week campaign in May, a total of 92 weapons were handed in, including 36 working firearms and more than 800 live rounds of ammunition. We are committed to protect our communities from criminals and criminal behaviour, so activities such as these firearms surrender campaigns work in tandem with the proactive work we do throughout the year to remove weapons from our communities and put offenders before the courts."
DCI Wilson said in the year-ending March there were 39 discharges in the region, which is the lowest figure for 21 years, down from from high of 125 in 2012.
Dr Peter Holden, the British Medical Association’s lead for firearms licensing policy, said the new digital marker was a positive step in improving the licensing process. He said: “The public should be under no illusion that this will be an overnight solution.
"This new scheme will apply only to new applicants or people renewing their licences, so it will take up to five years before all licensed gun owners are included within this framework. Of course, when there is a diagnosis of concern, GPs will continue to use all of the information in front of them and where there is a danger to the wider public or the patient themselves, they will alert authorities.
"The introduction of the marker though must not imply that the buck for public safety stops with the GP; as the police have acknowledged, they themselves are ultimately responsible for firearms licensing."
Anyone with information about who is using or storing weapons in their area is asked to DM @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.
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