Hernandez admits gun costs must be reformed

LICENSING OF FIREARMS IS BIG FINANCIAL BURDEN FOR FORCE

- CARL EVE

DEVON and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner has said questions over “who foots the bill” for the licensing of firearms need to be answered, after The Herald requested costs.

For a number of years, the fee for the application of a firearms licence did not fully meet the cost of processing it and many police forces have often argued that the fee should be raised.

Prompted by The Herald, the Office of the Police and Crime Commission requested information from Devon and Cornwall Police and was left stunned to be told that the force is spending around £630,000 each year processing firearms applications.

In the wake of the horrific shootings in Plymouth on August 12 last year, which saw five people – Maxine Davison, Lee Martyn, Sophie Martyn, Katherine Shepherd and Stephen Washington – murdered, the gunman dead by his own hand as well as two more people injured, a series of official inquiries were launched.