Firearms licensing

Part of: Large-scale policing Policing on the beat

Firearms are lethal weapons. They can kill or seriously injure. In order to keep people safe, there is a legal framework within which the holding of firearms, by members of our society who are considered suitable, may be appropriately controlled and regulated. In firearms licensing, the overarching consideration is always public safety. The decision whether someone may possess a firearm rests with the police and, ultimately, the courts.

HMICFRS inspects how well police forces carry out their firearms licensing responsibilities.

Firearms licensing reports

Keyham shootings: recommendations made to Devon and Cornwall Police – July 2023

HMICFRS undertook an urgent review of the progress Devon and Cornwall Police had made in relation to the recommendations issued by the Independent Office for Police Conduct concerning the tragic events in Plymouth on 12 August 2021.

The review considered:

the leadership and governance of the force’s firearms and explosives licensing unit (FELU);
the policies and processes used by the force, and how this affects decision-making; and
the resourcing of the FELU; and the training provided.

Targeting the risk: an inspection of the efficiency and effectiveness of firearms licensing in police forces in England and Wales – September 2015

In May 2013, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Firearms and Explosive Licensing Working Group invited us to inspect firearms licensing. In July 2013, the Home Secretary gave approval for us to examine how well police forces had responded to concerns raised about firearms licensing in previous reports published by us, the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.

The final report was published in September 2015. It sets out our findings from fieldwork in 11 police forces supported by data from all 43 forces in England and Wales. Our recommendations are relevant to all police forces throughout England and Wales.

Previous firearms licensing reports

Firearms licensing thematic report – January 2002

In June 2001, HMIC conducted a survey of the licensing departments of all forces in England and Wales in partnership with the then ACPO Administration of Firearms and Explosives Licensing Sub Committee Secretariat and in consultation with the Home Office and the British Shooting Sports Council.

The administration of firearms licensing – January 1993

Following the publication of a number of reports in the early 1990s by the Home Office and Association of Police Chief Officers, HMIC carried out a thematic inspection to establish an up to date position on firearms licensing in the police service across the country.