An avoidable tragedy

David Frost on the failures of the police licensing procedure in the lead-up to the mass shootings in Plymouth in August 2021 in which five people and the gunman died

- David Frost

"Previous recommendations designed to strengthen the current position have not been implemented."

"What is highly likely is that, if change is not effected, there will be another tragedy."

Those are quotes from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary's (HMIC) 2015 report on firearms licensing. In 2021, Jake Davison went on a rampage in Plymouth, killing five people and injuring two more with a legally held shotgun that he should never have been allowed to have. How did it happen?

Declarations

Davison applied for a shotgun certificate (SGC) in 2017 so that he could go clay pigeon shooting with an uncle. He declared, as he was required to, that he suffered from autism and ADHD. Autism is a spectrum condition that affects people in different ways. Some very successful people have autism, but at the other end of the spectrum, there can be major social problems.

Both it and ADHD should be a red-flag item in licensing. Davison's GP was consulted, but declined to give a view on whether Davison was fit to be a certificate holder.

Davison's referee was a former teacher who noted that he would lose his temper if he was wound up, but she'd had no direct contact with him since 2014. Two other teachers who knew Davison, one of whom he had assaulted, said at the inquest that they would not have given a positive reference. Davison had been educated at a special school, surely another red flag.

There were other instances of assault that the police did not take into account.

Davison's father said he phoned the local police to warn that his son should not be given a certificate because of his autism and the volatile home situation, but no record of the warning could be found.